


Broken Snow Globes and New Perspectives

by ImaginationisKey996



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, bin has a crush, failed meet cute????, student council president!eunwoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-13 15:52:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9131254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginationisKey996/pseuds/ImaginationisKey996
Summary: The whole school is absolutely infatuated with the student council president, Lee Dongmin, including Bin.  After all his grades are nearly as perfect as his face.  When a manufactured meet cute goes wrong and Bin breaks Dongmin's project for the holiday fair the two of them end up spending more time together than either party ever thought they would.  Bin starts to learn that Dongmin might not be as perfect as everyone thinks and what started out as a simple crush begins to get much more complicated.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [summerela](https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerela/gifts).



> hello i am back. i really didn't think id be able to start anything new before the end of the year and yet here i am. suffering because binu. most of the characterization in this was drawn from a couple of interviews that i read. one was eunwoo talking about how much he loved dramas when he was a kid and how he only did his homework cause he was only allowed to watch them once he was finished. the other one was eunwoo and bin talking about how they used to not get along super well in the beginning and that eunwoo actually got angry really easily. ill look for links and ill post them here when i find them for all y'all to enjoy :) anyway, i hope you enjoy the fic especially summerela, for whom this fic was written. it s not exactly what you wanted but i hope you like it none the less <3

“Guys, I think I’m gonna join the student council.” Bin says absently, gazing out the cafeteria window and down into the courtyard below. The ground outside is covered in snow but the student council is out there setting up tents for the holiday fair that is supposed to take place in the next couple of days. 

“No, you’re not.” Bin’s best friend, Minhyuk, says without looking up from his food. He shovels a scoop of dry mashed potatoes into his mouth. Since it’s nearing the holiday season the cafeteria had decided that holiday food was appropriate to serve the students. Which would have been fine if the food didn’t taste like it had been prepared last Christmas. 

“Why not?” Bin whines, latching onto Minhyuk’s eating arm from across the table wiggling it back and forth making it impossible for him to take another scoop of his food. He snatches his arm back from Bin with a glare and stabs aggressively into his turkey. 

“Dance team takes up literally every second of your time? And you never do your homework. That alone pretty much disqualifies you from even being considered.” Bin grunts in reluctant agreement, gnawing on a bite of his own turkey. It dries his mouth out so quickly it feels like he’s never even seen water, let alone tasted it. 

“Ugh. I seriously don’t know how you eat this stuff. It tastes like kinetic sand.” Bin says tossing his fork back onto his tray.

“Well, I don’t know why you want to be a part of student council. There just a bunch of stuck up jerks who don’t know how to cut loose and have fun.” Minhyuk snarks back. Suddenly there is an arm slung around Bin’s shoulder and mop of tousled blonde hair is plopping into the seat beside him. 

“I know exactly why.” Jinwoo, a senior and a part of the dance team, says with a knowing smirk. Myungjun, another senior, takes the seat beside Minhyuk. 

“Yeah, it’s ridiculously obvious.” Myungjun chimes in. Minhyuk cocks an eyebrow at the two of them, cheeks stuffed full of mashed potatoes.

“Three words. Student. Council. President.” Jinwoo says, ticking off the words on his fingers. Minhyuk groans and rolls his eyes and Myungjun just smiles the most shit eating grin he can manage. Bin blushes at having been found out. 

“Okay, okay. Fine. But it’s not like you can blame me. He’s literally perfect.” Bin reasons. 

“Well, the whole school seems to think so. Have fun waiting two hundred years for your turn to confess to him just to get shot down immediately.” Minhyuk says, returning his attention to his food.

“Aw, what makes you think he’d get shot down?” A new voice chimes in. It’s Sanha, a freshman and the newest addition to the dance team at the beginning of the year. He takes the seat at the end of the table with his tray of holiday food. 

“He’s almost as handsome as the president.” He finishes with an innocent tilt of his head.

“Okay. Firstly, no. No one is anywhere near as handsome as Lee Dongmin.” Jingo says, preparing to educate the newcomer. There’s a soft, “Hey!” of protest from Bin that goes ignored as Jinwoo plows onward. 

“Secondly, nearly every person in this school who likes boys has had a crush on him at some point. Either they get to nervous and never confess or they do and he shuts them down immediately.”

“Not once, during the entire time we’ve been going to school with him, has he ever accepted someones confession.” Myungjun adds in. 

“Well, how long have you been going to school with him?” Sanha asks. 

“He moved here when we were all in our second year of high school. So three and a half years?” 

“Well, maybe with Bin it’ll be different.” Sanha says.

“Yes. Thank you for your support in my romantic endeavours, Sanha. Minhyuk, I’m officially reliving you of your best friend duties. Sanha is my best friend now.” 

“Hey!” Minhyuk grunts around a mouthful of food, eyebrows creased together. Sanha just claps with delight. 

“Well, I’m off to wander around the courtyard until we accidentally bump into each other.” Bin says sweeping his tray off the table and turning to head out.

“Moon Bin, you can’t manufacture a meet cute!” Minhyuk calls.

“Just watch me!” Bin tosses back over his shoulder.

“Wait!” Jinwoo shouts before he gets more than two steps. Bin turns back to his friends.

“Can I have the rest of your food?” He pleads. Bin rolls his eyes and tosses his tray back onto the table before turning to leave once more. 

“Good luck!” Sanha yells.

“Don’t embarrass yourself!” Bin hears Myungjun singsong just before the cafeteria door swings closed behind him. 

 

 

 

Bin does manage to generate what should have been the perfect meet cute. Only, it doesn’t exactly go as planned. 

He makes his way down from the cafeteria and out into the courtyard. Dongmin is quite tall, a few inches taller than Bin, himself, so he’s quite easy to spot. He’s talking with a couple of girls who are both clutching clipboards in their hands. Both of them don’t look like they’re paying attention to what Dongmin is actually saying. There more just generally staring at him. He’s got a big cardboard box in his arms that must be pretty heavy. Dongmin;s face scrunches up as he shifts the box higher into his arms. He stops talking to the girls in front of him and it appears as though he’s waiting for them to respond. They just keep staring and Bin watches Dongmin roll his eyes, clearly fed up with the lack of response. Bin moves closer.

“Did you call about the streamers or not?” Dongmin asks with and weary sigh. It sounds like it could have been the thousandth time he’d asked that question. Theres a loud bang of someone dropping something from a few tents over and it’s enough to snap the girls out of there meditative state. 

“Uh, yes. They said that all the streamers should be hear by tomorrow.” They first girl says.

“Okay, thanks. You two must be tired. You can head in and get ready for class.” Dongmin says and then he smiles at them, eyes crinkled into crescents and all. They smile back and Dongmin nods his head before sweeping away from them. The two girls clutch hands and squeal together, bouncing up and down a little before turning and heading inside.

Bin sees that Dongmin is on his own now, making his way to the back corner tent in their little set up and he decides that it’s his time to make a move. 

He circles around the perimeter of the court yard so that he’s approaching Dongmin from the front. Then he very purposely pretends that he’s looking at the different tents and not where he’s walking. As Dongmin gets nearer and nearer to him Bin can feel his heart beat picking up speed until its pounding against his chest. 

Finally, it’s the moment of truth!

Except Bin misjudged the distance between his and Dongmin’s shoulders and instead of just brushing gently against each other, Bin’s shoulder slams into Dongmin’s, not only causing the box he was struggling with earlier to topple from his hands and smash into the pavement, but causing the student council president to fall to his knees as well. 

As the box hits the ground there’s the telltale sound of glass shattering. The top of the box splits open and out roll a couple of barely intact snow globes. 

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” Bin asks rushing to help Dongmin stand up. He hold out his hand. When Dongmin looks up at him Bin’s not sure he’s ever seen someone look that angry in his entire life.

Lee Dongmin is finally looking at him and him alone and Bin hates it. He swallows a lump of nervousness in his throat and Dongmin ignores his outstretched hand and hauls himself to his feet on his own. They’re face to face and Bin has never been more terrified. 

Dongmin’s glare is intense, his face is bright crimson with rage and his chest his heaving. His jaw is clenched tight and his lips are quivering. Bin gulps again.

“You better hope to hell that you have some way to get me fifty snow globes by tomorrow or i swear to God, I’ll find a way to get you suspended.” Dongmin says and it’s dangerous and low and, God damn, Sanha said that he was scary during dance practice.

“Um… I don’t know where to get fifty snow globes…” Bin says sheepishly. He’s quite literally shaking in his boots. Dongmin’s eyes narrow and Bin know that he has absolutely said the wrong thing.

“You better find a way, then.” 

Bin is pretty sure that he’s gonna get stabbed with one of the shards of glass that lays on the pavement at their feet.

Just then, Bin’s lord and saviour, one of the student teachers rounds the corner of the row of tents.

“What’s going on here?” He asks, approaching Dongmin who’s anger almost immediately deflates. 

“I dropped the box of snow globes.” Dongmin says. He sound defeated more than anything now. The student teacher looks down at the box laying, dejected, on the pavement. He takes in the broken glass and tuts sympathetically. 

“I’m sorry, Dongmin. I know you really worked hard on those.” And, oh, if Bin didn’t feel bad before he sure does now. Dongmin had made the snow globes and he’d just run into him without thinking about anything but himself. 

“It’s okay, Kangjoon. If I made them before I guess I can make them again.” Dongmin says with a smile. It’s weak and watery and it doesn’t come anywhere close to crinkling his eyes like the smile he’d given those two girls earlier. 

Dongmin leans down to start cleaning up the broken glass when Bin notices him wince. He looks down at Dongmin’s hands. 

“You’re bleeding! He says with a gasp, grabbing Dongmin by the wrist to stop him from touching the glass more. Dongmin tugs his hands away from Bin and turns them over to examine them himself. The student teacher, Kangjoon, grabs Dongmin’s wrists himself and tuts again. 

“I’ll clean this up. Bin can you take Dongmin to the nurses office and help him get cleaned up?” Kangjoon asks. Bin nods while Dongmin groans. Kangjoon gives them both hall passes for the nurse to sign. 

“It’s just a couple of scratches. It’s not like I broke my legs. I can make it to the nurses office on my own.” He says.

Kangjoon ignores him and speaks directly to Bin. 

“Just go with him. Make sure he doesn’t try to sneak off somewhere to handle it on his own.” Bin nods again and Dongmin glares at the student teacher before turning to walk away in a huff, leaving Bin to trail after him. 

 

 

 

 

“I’m still mad at you, you know.” Dongmin says flashing a glare at Bin whose walking a good couple of feet behind him. 

“And I’m still sorry. I really didn’t mean to bump into you that hard.” Bin says jogging a little to match pace with Dongmin. 

“So you were trying to bump into me?” Dongmin asks, single eyebrow raised in accusation. 

“No…” Bin lies through his teeth and Dongmin rolls his eyes.

They walk in silence for a few beats.

“Why couldn't you just talk to me like a normal person? Do you have any idea how long it took me to make those snow globes?” Dongmin snaps at him. He sighs as they reach the door to the nurses office.

“Look if it’s any consolation it should take the two of us about half the time to get them all done.” 

“The two of us?” Dongmin asks, eyebrow raised again. 

“Yeah. I figure I broke them, the least I can do is help you replace them.” 

“And if I don’t want your help?” Dongmin asks with a tilt of his head. 

“Then I’ll talk to Kangjoon and he’ll convince you.” Bin says, reaching around Dongmin to open the door to the nurses office. Dongmin just enters the nurses office with a defeated sigh, Bin following close behind.

The visit goes fairly quickly. The nurse cleans the glass from Dongmin’s palms before cleaning the blood off with an alcohol wipe and wrapping his hands. Then she leaves them telling Dongmin that he can spend the rest of the day there if he wants. 

“By the way, the rest of the school is gonna be pissed when they find out this was your fault.” Dongmin says waving his bandaged hands in the air. 

“Well, I’m pretty pissed it’s my fault to be honest.” Bin says,scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment and sitting on the bed across from Dongmin. Dongmin huffs out a little laugh and Bin’s head snaps up just in time to catch the little smile that graces Dongmin’s features. It’s short lived but it makes Bin’s heart stutter none the less. 

“Did you just laugh?” He asks. He knows he’s pushing his luck but, honestly, this back and forth that they’ve got going on is thrilling.

“Absolutely not.” Dongmin says, sobering immediately, completely impassive expression sliding back onto his face. Bin had so often seen him wearing it around the school like a mask. Bin shakes his head.

“Alright. What ever you say.” Bin stands and prepares to leave the nurses office.

“Where are you going?” Dongmin asks and Bin thinks that maybe he detects a little bit of worry? Like Dongmin might just want him to stay? He’s probably just imagining things.

“I’m going back to class? I’ll pester Kangjoon later and we can meet up to work on the snow globes.” He says before fixing Dongmin with a smirk. 

“Unless you want me to stay?” And Dongmin’s face immediately wrinkles up in disgust. Bin shrugs and turns to head out of the nurses office. He hears rustling behind him and turns back to see Dongmin sliding off the bed and heading toward the door as well. 

“What? If you’re fit to go back to class then so am I.” He says, looking defiantly at Bin, like he’s challenging him to disagree. 

“That logic doesn’t really make a ton of sense. You should stay in here and rest. At least until the period is over.” 

“Seriously? It’s just a couple scratches. It’s not that big a deal. You’re just trying to buy time before the whole school finds out you hurt their precious student council president.” The last part comes out almost mockingly, like Dongmin hates that that’s how people think of him.

“You caught me.” Bin says instead of asking about it. He barely knows Dongmin and it would be unfair to assume things just because of what he thought he heard. 

“But, seriously. You aren’t going to be able to write very well with your hands all scratched up anyways. You might as well just hang out here for the rest of the day and get the notes from someone tomorrow.” 

Dongmin sighs and scrunches his hands experimentally, wincing when it pulls at the cuts the wrong way. He sighs agains and sits back down on the bed and Bin knows he’s won. 

“Moon Bin.” Dongmin calls from his seat on the bed. Bin turns to look at him curiously.

“You know my name?” He asks.

“You’re friends with Jinwoo and Myungjun, both of whom I have most of my classes with. Did you really think that they ever shut up about the dance team? You included? Cause they don’t.” 

Bin chuckles a little. He doesn’t blame Jinwoo and Myungjun. He kind of never shuts up about their dance team either. It’s his pride and joy, his baby. He’s just hoping that one day they’ll get to perform at one of the school fairs in front of everyone. Or maybe one day they’ll be able to compete somewhere. 

“Give me your phone.” Dongmin says with absolutely no preamble. Bin doesn’t hesitate to hand his phone over. Dongmin taps away at Bin’s phone before handing it back with his number newly programmed into it. 

“As much as I hate to admit it, I could actually use and extra pair of hands to get all these snow globes done. So, if you really are serious about helping text me tomorrow and I’ll send you the details.” 

Bin smiles down at his phone trying not to let his giddiness show. 

“Okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.” Bin says before slipping out of the nurses office.

“Only if you’re serious about helping! Otherwise I’ll block you!” He hears Dongmin call as the door swings closed behind him. 

Once the door is fully closed Bin looks to the left and then to the right, checking to make sure that there’s no one around who might see him. Then he indulges himself in a happy little dance that consists of a considerable amount of air punching and tiny jumps. Then he slips his phone into his back pocket and makes his way to class like nothing happened.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day is Saturday and Bin wakes up inordinately early. He has to stop himself from immediately texting Dongmin, figuring he won’t be awake yet. 

The rest of the school day had been pretty interesting. Apparently everyone in the cafeteria had seen what had happened in the courtyard which meant that, by the time Bin got back to class, more than half the school was pissed at him. Bin barely even noticed, head still in the clouds from getting Dongmin’s number, even if it was just so he could help fix the mess that he made.

When he tells his friends what happened at practice that evening they are both impressed and kind of annoyed that his plan actually worked, if not quite in the way they had been expecting. 

Bin forces himself to get out of bed and have some breakfast. His mom greats him when he enters the kitchen.

“Good morning, sweetheart. What are your plans for the day?” She asks, sipping her coffee.

“I’m going to help a friend with a project.” Bin answers putting some bread in the toaster. His tilts her head in question.

“I thought I knew all your friends?”

“This is a new friend. I hope.” He says with a smile.

“You hope?”

“Well, yeah. We just met, for real, for the first time yesterday. He’s kinda stand offish but I think that I can change his mind.” Bin’s mom chuckles and gets up to deposit her coffee cup in the sink, ruffling Bin’s messy bedhead as she passes. Bin’s toast pops and he turns to finish preparing his breakfast. 

“That’s my boy.” She says with a smile.

“I have to go into the office today to finish some stuff up. I’ll be home in time to make dinner, though, so don’t worry.” She presses a kiss to Bin’s temple before grabbing her bag and slipping her shoes on. 

“Okay. Bye Mom!” Bin calls.

“Good luck with your new friend!” She says back. Then she heads off to work and Bin is left alone. 

He last for about an hour on his own before he can’t wait any longer and he texts Dongmin.

 

To: Dongmin:

hey. I'm still down to help with the snow globes btw

To Dongmin:

this is bin by the way :)

From Dongmin:

Yeah I figured. No one else has given me a need for new snow globes.

From Dongmin:

You can come over when ever you want. Here’s my address.

Bin puts the address into google maps. Dongmin only lives about fifteen minutes away by bus so about half an hour later Bin is standing on the steps of the boys house, hesitating to knock.

The house is pretty large. Bigger than his own by a significant margin. It’s nice too. Everything looks clean and neat. Even the lawn looks nice although it’s covered in patches of snow. 

Bin shakes himself a little, hyping himself up. It’s not every day that you get invited over to your crushes house. He raises a hand an knocks gently on the door. There are a couple beats of silence and he’s is just about to knock again when the door swings open.

There stands Dongmin and it strikes Bin that this is the first time that he’s ever seen the boy out of his school uniform. He’s wearing a soft lilac sweater and dark jeans. It’s a stark contrast to Bin’s torn up, light wash jeans, black sweater and jacket. Dongmin’s dark hair is artfully mussed and Bin can’t tell if it’s been done on purpose or if that’s just the way he wakes up in the morning. Other than looking beautiful and perfectly put together Dongmin looks exhausted. Eyes that had been bright and playful yesterday looked dull and glazed over. 

The two of them exchange awkward pleasantries as Dongmin lets Bin into his house to slip out of his shoes. He offers to take Bin’s jacket and hangs it up in the closet like it’s second nature. They head into the kitchen passing through the living room where Bin can see all the materials for the snow globes laid out on the coffee table. 

“Would you like something to drink?” Dongmin asks standing in front of the fridge. “We have juice, water and milk. Or I can make some coffee or tea. What ever your preference is.” He turns to Bin. 

“I’ll have whatever your having.” 

Dongmin shrugs an closes the fridge heading over to their electric kettle to start the water boiling. He glances over at Bin with caution, like he’s checking to see if he’s made a mistake by choosing to make tea. Like maybe Bin was just being polite and he actually wants coffee or something. Bin makes sure to offer him a small, unconcerned smile before turning to examine the photos that are neatly arranged on the front of the fridge. 

There are a a couple pictures of a little boy that Bin an immediately recognize as Dongmin. He still looks exactly the same. Theres a photo of a different little boy that Bin doesn’t recognize and then a bunch of photos of family vacations and couple photos that are just of Dongmin’s parents. 

“Is this your brother?” Bin asks. Dongmin looks up from where he’s fixing their tea. He wanders over to stand behind Bin looking at the fridge with a soft smile.

“Yup. He’ll be heading into the high school next year.” Dongmin goes back to making tea. bin continues to examine the fridge. Then he starts to notice that some of the vacation photos where he had assumed the young boy was Dongmin were actually of his brother and Dongmin was no where to be seen.

“How come you aren’t in some of these photos?” He asks

“Which ones?” Dongmin says from where he’s pouring the freshly boiled water into their mugs.

“Uh, the one in front of the pyramids. And the one by the ocean.”

“I had to do summer school those years. My grades weren’t good enough so I had to find a way to bring them up.” 

“And your parents were okay with that?” Bin asks incredulously. It would have been nearly impossible for him to skip out on a family vacation even if he wanted to.

“It was their idea. The second time, they said that I could either go to summer school or stop taking piano lessons. And I didn’t want to do that so I chose to skip the vacation.” Dongmin is pressing the mug of fresh tea into Bin’s hands. 

“There’s sugar on the counter and cream in the fridge if you want.” Dongmin says be for breezing past Bin and into the living room. Bin follows him and sits down on the couch placing his tea on the side table.

“Where is the rest of your family anyways?” Bin says, looking around the empty house half expecting a pesky younger brother or a stern but kind father to pop out from one of the many corners of the house. 

“Mom and Dad are in Tokyo for business and my brother is staying at a friends house.” 

“Are you planning to throw a massive party then?” Bin asks cheekily, eye brows wiggling. Dongmin just scoffs and sets his tea down as well, sitting beside Bin. 

“Absolutely not. My parents would find out somehow and I’d be in huge trouble.” He leans forward to pull the coffee table closer to them so they can work more easily. 

“It’s not like I have anyone to invite anyways…” He mutters selecting materials for his first snow globe. 

“Are you kidding? You’ve got the whole school in the palm of your hand! You could invite anyone and I’m sure they’d show up.” 

“Yeah, but it’s not like I actually have any friends, or anything.” Dongmin says and then immediately looks like he regrets it. 

“Never mind. Lets just get to work.” 

Bin nods in agreement and gets to work on his own snow globe. Silently, he feels his idealized version of Dongmin melting away. It’s replaced with the tiny pieces of reality that Dongmin has let him see. He begins to recognize that Dongmin isn’t some kind of inhuman creature with perfect grades, a perfect face and a perfect home life. He’s kid, just like Bin. 

The two of them work in relative silence for a while, exchanging small talk here and there whenever either of them can come up with something to say. After they’ve been working for a couple of hours Bin notices Dongmin’s eyes start to droop. He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head wake himself up. At this point they’ve finished over half of the snow globes. Bin thinks they look pretty good if he does say so himself.

“Let’s take a break for a while.” He suggests.

“Come on. We’re more than half way done. We should just finish this now.” Dongmin shoots back. 

“Exactly. We’re more than half way done which means that we are entitled to a break.” Bin shoots back, sinking back into the couch, arms crossed over his chest, daring Dongmin to argue with him. Dongmin glares and toss the remote at him. It lands with a painful thud on his chest. Bin winces.

“Ow…” He whines, rubbing his chest.

“Do whatever you want. I’m gonna keep working.” Dongmin says.

Bin shrugs, turning on the tv to a rerun of one of his favourite dramas. He’s pretty sure he’s not gonna be able to convince Dongmin to take a break with words but maybe he can distract him enough that he’ll involuntarily stop working.

Sure enough, about ten minute into the episode Dongmin is enraptured. He watches the characters on screen with bright eyes, knees tucked up to his chest, chewing on his thumb nail. All the snow globe materials lay abandoned on the coffee table.

They watch tv in silence, with room for a whole other person between them on the couch. Well, Dongmin watches tv. Bin watches Dongmin. He tries his best to be subtle but Dongmin is so focused on the drama that Bin doesn’t think he’d notice if Bin lit himself on fire. 

Dongmin lets out a little gasp as the leading man begins his confession to the leading lady. He squeezes his knees in closer to his chest and ducks his head so he can peer over the tops of them. It’s the most adorable thing Bin has ever seen a person do. At least thats what he thinks until not even a minute later and Dongmin is clutching his knees and smiling the widest grin Bin has ever seen on the boys face. His cheeks are even a little flushed as they watch the leads in the drama kiss sweetly. Is this what having a crush is like? Cause Bin thinks that his heart might straight up, fall out of his chest if he keeps watching the boy sitting beside him. 

The end credits of the episode start to roll and Dongmin straightens his knees and calms his smile. And, honestly, it gives Bin more than enough time to stop staring but he doesn’t. 

“We should probably get back to work… What?” He asks when he catches Bin looking at him.

“Nothing.” Bin responds with a secretive smile. Dongmin’s eyebrows crease as he tries to work out what Bin could have been staring at. He pats his hair down a little and rubs at his nose.

“You’re cute, is all.” Bin adds with a smirk. Dongmin stops checking himself over and rolls his eyes with a snort before returning to the snow globes. 

“What? Don’t you believe me?” He asks, turning his full attention to Dongmin.

“No. Not really.” Dongmin responds with a sigh, but keeps focused on the snow globe parts in his hands. 

“Hmm… Well, we’ll work on that.” Bin says picking up some snow globe pieces of his own. Bin might be fooling himself but he really thinks he can see the hint of a blush on Dongmin’s cheeks. He hopes that it’s from him and not just from the drama. 

Their second round of snow globe making is much less tense. They banter playfully with one another for most of the time but as they near the last few snow globes Bin notices Dongmin begin to nod off again.

Theres about five globes left when Dongmin finally falls asleep for real. His head lolls to the side, dropping onto the armrest and not moving. Bin rescues the snow globe pieces from his hands before they drop onto the floor. He looks at Dongmin with a fond smile. He watches as the boys nose and lips twitch in his sleep. His eyelashes flutter against his cheeks and his eyebrows crease and uncrease. He must be dreaming.

 

When Dongmin eventually wakes up Bin is nowhere to be seen. He finds a note on the coffee table along with a box pack with all of the finished snow globes. He picks up the note and reads it. 

You fell a sleep and I had to finish the snow globes all by myself!  
Now you owe me. Lets get ramen sometime? (Only if you want to.)

Dongmin wants to point out that Bin could have just woken him up and he would have helped with the last snow globes but that would be pointless as Bin is no longer around to have obvious things pointed out to him. He laughs a little. It’s creative, at least. Probably the most creative confession he’s ever gotten. He considers the note again, reading it over. Something compels him to turn the slip of paper over. On the back it reads:

PS. You laugh in your sleep. It’s really cute.  
PPS. Your really cute (!)

Dongmin laughs again and he can feel his cheeks flushing. Its just a note, for god’s sake. How on earth does Bin make him feel like this? He shakes his head at himself. He should be better at this whole controlling his feelings thing after the way things ended the last time something like this happened. Still, he supposes that theres no harm in going out to eat with Bin. Who knows? Bin makes him laugh. Maybe he’ll be more understanding than most people and Dongmin will end up with a new friend. Yes, having a new friend would be nice.

Dongmin as long since discovered that the key to keep from being disappointed is to keep your expectations as low as possible. Still, he can’t help the beginnings of butterfly wings fluttering in his chest that drown out the whispers telling him this is just what happened last time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally inspired again so hopefully there will be more regular updates!! hope you enjoy!

Sunday morning Bin wakes up to a text from Dongmin and he can feel his heart begin to pound.

From: Dongmin

Sure.

From: Dongmin

If you were serious.

He didn’t totally anticipate Dongmin agreeing to eat with him and he certainly didn’t expect him to respond so soon. He kind of expected the other boy to brush it off as some kind of joke even though he had meant every word of his note wholeheartedly.

To: Dongmin

i have to head to the school today. i booked the dance room so i could practise but you could meet me there and we can eat somewhere close by after?

From: Dongmin

Okay. What time?

 

To: Dongmin

1:00?

From: Dongmin

Sounds good. See you then :)

Bin probably spends about fifteen minutes staring at that little smiley face emoticon before he remembers he should really be getting ready if he wants to get to the school on time. While he’s getting ready he cannot keep the grin off his face. Even his mom asks what’s got him so smiley.

“I actually think I’m making progress on this whole new friend thing. We’re meeting today when I’m done at the studio and going out for food.” He says as he shovels all the necessary items into his backpack. His mother gets up to fetch her purse and she hands Bin some cash.

“Well then, you two should treat yourselves today. This is a big step in a friendship and it should be memorable.” She says. Bin takes the money with a smile and thanks his mother before hoisting his backpack onto his shoulders and heading to the door. He slips on his shoes as his mother calls,

“Maybe you should invite your new friend over for dinner next time!”

“Okay, Mom. I will!” Bin tosses over his shoulder with a wave before dashing away to catch the bus to the school.

 

 

Bin has the dance studio at the school booked for two full hours and it still isn’t really enough time. He practices hard, putting every ounce of energy he’s got into every movement of every runthrough and after about an hour he’s completely exhausted. Still he pushes onward, forcing his body to move with grace and power and he flows through their team’s choreography. And yet time and time again, he gets stuck on the same part. 

He runs through it at about half speed with no music. The dance room is only filled with sneaker squeaks and the sound of his own breathing. He keeps time to the pounding of blood in his head. 

He runs through it again and again, picking up speed each time until it’s perfect. Then he switches on the music, giving himself a couple of bars to rev up to the part that’s been challenging him. He’s so caught up in his dancing that he doesn’t even notice the door to the dance room slowly squeak open and someone slip inside. It’s only when he finishes the routine to near perfection and the music fades to silence that he hears the soft sound of quiet clapping coming from the back corner of the room. 

He whips around to see Dongmin standing there clapping quietly with a smile on his face that looks almost proud. 

“If the rest of your dance team is as good as you, you should definitely hold a showcase at the school.” He says, tucking his hands into the pockets of his long, tan, woollen coat. He looks remarkably soft and warm, even under the harsh fluorescent lights of the dance room. 

Bin quickly hides his shock with a smirk and grabs his water bottle. 

“Well, they’d all have to pretty good to keep up with the likes of me.” He bluffs, taking a swig from his water bottle. Dongmin scoffs and rolls his eyes. 

“Nevermind. I’m taking it back if you’re gonna be an arrogant asshole about it. They must all be better than you if you’re here practicing by yourself on a Sunday.” 

“Are you saying that you think the routine looks easy?” Bin says, a glimmer of an idea forming in his devious mind.

“No way. I’m definitely not saying that —“

“Cause if you were,” Bin interrupts. “And you maybe wanted to try and learn part of it with me, I’d definitely be willing to pay for lunch.” And Bin knows that his mother gave him money specifically so he could treat his new friend, but Dongmin doesn’t have to know that and Bin thinks that there’s no reason the student council president can’t work a little for his food. 

Dongmin narrows his eyes, seemingly contemplating whether embarrassing himself is going to be worth the free food. 

“Fine.” He says, decisively, with narrowed eyes. “But absolutely no videos or photos. You are not allowed to document any of this in any way, shape or form. Got it?” 

“Got it.” 

So, Bin beings to teach Dongmin the choreography. Dongmin is stiff and awkward at first, but in all fairness, Bin isn’t a very good teacher. He’s not used to explaining the moves to someone who doesn’t have any dance training at all. He’s much more used to working with his team, whom he can show choreography to once and they’ll pretty much understand what he wants from them. With Dongmin though, it’s slow. 

But, the student council president is surprisingly strong for all his long, gangly limbs, and once he starts to get a feel for things and Bin figures out how to instruct him better, he begins to pick up the choreography quite quickly. 

As the two near the end of the time Bin booked in the studio, they’re sweaty and giggly and somehow both completely exhausted and amazingly energized. Bin starts the music up from the beginning one last time and starts to dance, with Dongmin following about half a beat behind. They complete the first little part of the choreography that Bin had taught Dongmin in near synchronization. Dongmin lets out a victory whoop before allowing himself to collapse onto the floor. Bin shuts off the music and flops down beside him. 

“Eugh.” Dongmin says, pulling at the t-shirt that’s now damp with sweat, both his coat and sweater had been discarded to the corner of the studio long ago. Bin grunts in agreement getting up to grab the shirt he’d brought to change into. 

“Well, at least you have something to change into. I’m stuck like this for the rest of the day.” He says flopping down onto his back, letting the cold hardwood cool him down. 

“That’s the price you pay for free food, I guess.” Bin says nonchalantly. Dongmin whines again from the floor of the dance room. 

“Oh, hush, you big baby.” Bin scoffs, shucking his tank top off over his head and wiping off his sweet with it. Unfortunately there school doesn’t have showers so that’s the best he could do for the time being. 

“There’s a spare sweater in my locker that you can borrow. It’s number 16. There’s no lock on it.” 

“Thanks.” Dongmin says and Bin hears Dongmin get up and make his way to the corner of the room. He hears the click of the locker opening and then he hears rustling which must be Dongmin taking off his shirt. Bin makes a very focused and concerted attempt not to turn around and sneak a peak, but that does not mean he doesn’t want to. The student council president is surprisingly strong for all his slenderness, after all. Bin can’t help it if he’s curious. 

He slips his own shirt over his head and gathers his things being careful not to creep on Dongmin while he’s changing. Sure, it’s pretty normal for guys to be shirtless around one another but he has no idea how comfortable Dongmin is with the idea and it’s better to be safe than sorry, no matter how curious he may be. 

“Ready to go?” He asks waiting for the little “Mhmm.” of confirmation from Dongmin before turning around. The sweater he keeps in his locker for emergencies is too big on the student council president. Bin is little broader than he is so the sweater fits him quite loosely. It’s sky blue and worn to the point where the ends sleeves are getting a little threadbare. It’s cozy though, Bin remembers. Dongmin looks very cozy in it, with the way the sleeves fall over his hands and the shoulders sag a little, neckline shifting and gaping as he moves so that the edges of his collarbones peek out just a little. 

“Where are we headed?” He asks walking to the corner of the room to slip on his coat and gather his bag. 

“Well, there’s a ramen shop, like, five minutes away? The food is awesome and cheap, especially cause the lady who owns it thinks I’m cute.” Bin says, complete with a finger poking his cheek and the cutest eye smile he can manage. 

“Ugh, let’s just go before you make me lose my appetite.” Dongmin says with disgust, pushing his way out of the dance room first, leaving Bin to sprint out after him, giggling all the way.


	4. Chapter 4

The short walk to the ramen place consists mainly of playful banter and teasing nudges. When Bin catches up to Dongmin he pushes him just hard enough so that he stumbles off the sidewalk and into the bike lane of the empty street. Dongmin shoves Bin into the bushes that line the other side of the sidewalk in retaliation. Bin clambers out of the bushes and looks around for Dongmin so he can get his revenge, only to find him, giggling, a few feet up the road. He breaks into a little jog to catch up to him once again. 

“That was rude.” He remarks when he makes it to where Dongmin is waiting for him.

“You started it.” Dongmin snarks back.

“Well, at least I didn’t abandon you on the side of the road.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not like I’d really leave you behind.” Dongmin says as they come to a stop in front of the ramen shop. Suddenly, he reaches up to pluck a couple of stray leaves out of Bin’s unruly hair before turning to enter the shop, little brass bells over the door jangling as it opens. Bin is shocked by the surprisingly sweet gesture, reaching up to comb a hand through his hair, a small smile unfolding across his face. He doesn’t notice that Dongmin is holding the door open for him, expectantly, until the student council president clears his throat. Bin starts and makes his way into the ramen shop behind Dongmin.

The restaurant is empty except for them so they settle at a table for two at the far back of the restaurant and order their food. They sit in silence for a brief moment and Dongmin begins to play with the fake flowers that sit at the centre of the table. Bin has never really been one for subtlety, so he asks,

“So, what kind of things do you like, Lee Dongmin?” The boy in question raises his eyebrows only to have them quickly crease together in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

Well, I know you as Lee Dongmin: Student Council President. Or Lee Dongmin: A perfect face to match his perfect grades! Or Lee Dongmin: Our pride and joy!” Bin exclaims, progressively getting louder and louder with each new title he adds on. Dongmin is trying to hush him as the woman at the front of the restaurant rolls her eyes and heads into what is presumably the kitchen. He’s laughing, though, so Bin counts it as a win. 

“But seriously,” he says once the two of them have calmed down. “What do you actually like to do?” 

Dongmin contemplates the question, brow furrowing as he tries to come up with an answer.

“I like playing the piano.” He says assuredly. Bin scoffs.

“Boring! Come on, Dongmin. I already knew that. You can do better.” 

“Well, maybe I’m just a boring person then. Did you ever think about that?” Dongmin shoots back. Bin hums to himself, as though he’s actually considering whether Dongmin is a boring person or not.

“No. I don’t think so. We’ve barely spent two days together and I can already tell that theres more going on in here than just school work and piano.” He says poking Dongmin right in the centre of his forehead. Dongmin slaps his hand away with a laugh.

“Okay, okay.” He says and considers that question again. As he’s thinking, the woman who took there orders comes and drops off their ramen. Bin immediately breaks apart his wooden chopsticks and digs in to the meal, slurping up the noodle with the voracity of a man who hasn’t seen food for a month. 

Dongmin is a little more delicate about it, carefully scooping the noodles into his mouth, napkin in hand, prepared to wipe away any dribbles that might occur. They’re about a quarter of the way through their meal when Dongmin finally answers.

“I like playing basketball.” Bin looks up at him, eyes wide with shock, noodles hanging from his slightly open mouth.

“Soccer too.” Dongmin admits.

“You do sports too?” Bin says, around a mouthful of food. Dongmin grimaces as some of the noodles fall from Bin’s chopsticks back into the bowl of broth, splattering it across the table.

“Would you just swallow your food. It’s disgusting.”

Bin gulps down the mouthful of partially masticated noodles.

“Sorry. But seriously, you play sports too?” He asks, still kind of in shock. Is there nothing that this boy can’t do?

“Not really anymore. I was never very good, anyways. It was just for fun.”

“Why don’t you play anymore?” Bin asks with a curious tilt of his head.

“Like I said, I wasn’t very good. Why waste time doing something your not good at when you could be honing your skills in something that you are good at?”

Dongmin takes another bite of his food, swallowing delicately before adding,

“Plus, after my family moved and I changed schools I didn’t really have anyone to play with. Among other reasons.” 

Bin frowns at that.

“I guess I’ll have to invite you next time me and the dance team play. Just to see if your really as bad as you say you are.” Bin jokes, not wanting Dongmin to think that it’s a pity invitation. Dongmin just scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“Well, what about you, then?” He asks. “What is it that you like to do?” 

Bin shrugs as he slurps up his noodles. 

“I like dance. That’s pretty much all there is to know about me.” Dongmin frowns and stretches his arm across the table to poke Bin in the bicep. 

“If I’m not allowed to be boring than neither are you.” He says with a pout, poking Bin once more. It’s oddly incredibly endearing and Bin seriously considers just outright saying “I like you” but he doesn’t want to scare Dongmin away. They’ve barely known each other for two days and though Dongmin has opened up to him way more quickly than he had ever expected, Bin is still trying to be cautious about showing how he really feels. 

Honestly, even though half their playful banter feels like flirting to Bin, whatever relationship they have starting is shaping itself into something beautiful. At first, Bin could admit that he was infatuated with Dongmin on appearance alone. Completely overwhelmed by his physical appearance, he admired the student council president from afar and watched as he turned down suitor after suitor. But then when they met for the first time and Bin ruined all of those snow globes, he really got to experience first hand all of that passion that kept Dongmin going. And over these past two day Bin had begun to see little cracks in the politely distant mask Dongmin wore at school. Bin thought that if Dongmin were ever to fully remove that mask, he might just fall in love.

Bin is saved from having to answer Dongmin’s question when a group of boys around their age enters the shop. There are three of them, all handsome, in a rough around the edges sort of way. They look like sports kids. One of them is even carrying a basketball. 

Dongmin is frozen in his seat, his normally impeccable posture is completely shot and he hunkers low against the table. It’s almost as though he’s trying to hide from the group of boys. His head is bowed but his eyes seem to be fixed on the tallest boy in little group, evidently, the leader. Dongmin starts to grind his teeth together, jaw clenching and unclenching over and over until Bin nudges his foot under the table. Dongmin’s eyes snap to him and Bin tilts his head in question, eyebrows furrowed in concern. Dongmin just shakes his head a little and stares fixedly at a spot on the table. 

The group of boys order their food to go and Bin hears the little bells above the shop doors tinkle as the boys head outside to wait for their food to be ready. Dongmin heaves out an audible sigh, closes his eyes and draws in a deep calming breath. 

“Who the hell was that?” Bin asks as soon as the doors close. 

“They,” Dongmin says. His tone has lost all sense of its earlier playfulness. “Are the other reasons I stopped playing basketball and soccer.” Their waitress heads outside with a couple to go boxes filled with food and hands it to the group of boys. Then they begin to drift away from the shop.

“Did they bully you at your old school?” Bin asks voice still hushed as he watches them walk away. Dongmin sighs.

“It doesn’t matter anymore anyway.”

“Seeing them clearly still bothers you so I’m pretty sure it matters.” 

“No, it doesn’t. Just drop it, okay?” 

“Not okay!” Bin says incredulously. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me whats going on.”

“Well, I never asked for your help.” Dongmin doesn’t raised his voice at all. It just gets sharper, like the point of a needle pricking Bin’s skin. “And I don’t need it.”

“Obviously seeing those guys upset you. I’m just trying to understand why so I can stop it from happening again.” 

“You can’t stop it from happening, okay? This isn’t like the snow globes, Bin. You can’t just waltz your way into someone else’s life and expect to be able to instantly fix all of their problems, so just leave it!”

Silence falls over their little two person table in the back of the ramen restaurant. Dongmin tries to calm his breathing while Bin just looks at him with wide eyes.

“I have to go. My piano lesson starts in half an hour.” Dongmin stands and bows. When Bin looks at him, he can’t see any of the cracks that used to be there. Everything is all sealed up nice and pretty. Nothing less than perfect anywhere to be found. “Thank you for the meal.” It’s formal and Bin doesn’t think that his heart has ever hurt as much as it does when he watches Dongmin gather his things and make his way out of the ramen shop.


	5. Chapter 5

After Dongmin leaves, Bin pays for their meal and heads home himself. He doesn’t have anything planned for the rest of the day so after artfully dodging his mother’s questions about his day he heads up to his room to contemplate in peace. 

Honestly, he doesn’t understand why Dongmin was so touchy about the whole thing. All Bin wanted to do was help, but he wasn’t able to unless he knew what was going on. And since Dongmin had refused to tell him he just didn’t know what to do. 

So he does the only thing he can think of. He calls Minhyuk. The phone rings twice before he is greeted with a groggy “What’s up?”

“I made him mad and now he hates me.” Bin begins.

“What the hell are you talking about? Who hates you?” Minhyuk says, sounding considerably more alert. 

“Dongmin hates me.” Bin whines.

“Wow. That took way less time than I thought it would.”

“Minhyuuuuk. You’re supposed to be helping not snarking at me. Also, what do you mean less time than you thought it would?”

“It’s nothing, Bin. Don’t worry about it.”

“You can’t straight up tell me that I’m unappealing and then say don’t worry! Now I’m very worried!”

“Look, why don’t you tell me what actually happened and then maybe I’ll tell you why I thought it would.”

Bin sighs and flops down onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He recounts what happened at the ramen shop to Minhyuk voice growing louder as he becomes more and more exasperated at the situation. When he’s finished Minhyuk hums like he’s mulling over all the new information.

“I’ll admit,” he says. “If it were me I would also think that Dongmin was over reacting. But as an outside perspective, I can appreciate where he’s coming from.”

“Wow, I thought we were friends.” Bin dead pans.

“Do you want my help, or not?” Minhyuk snarks back. Bin stays silent and Minhyuk takes it as an affirmative. 

“You can be a little… pushy? I think you have this ideal version of what this relationship would be like in your head. You’ve spent so much time imagining what it would be like to be with him that when things don’t go exactly as planned you freak out. I mean you don’t have any idea what Dongmin’s relationship was like with those boys.”

“Yeah. Because he wouldn’t tell me!” 

“But did he have any reason to tell you? Maybe their relationship wasn’t something you talk about with people you’ve just met. Maybe it was a lot more complicated than what he felt like explaining at the time.” 

Bin considers Minhyuk’s words. Maybe he had pushed Dongmin a little too hard. Maybe he should have listened to Dongmin when he asked him to drop it. 

“I guess you’re right. But what do I do now?” Bin asks.

“I don’t know? Apologize to him? That’s probably the best first step.” Bin faintly hears Minhyuk’s mom calling for him on the other side of the phone. 

“Hey, I have to go but good luck with your apology.”

“Thanks. And thanks for your help. You’re the best!”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. See you at school tomorrow.”

“Alright. See you tomorrow.” Bin says and then he hangs up the phone letting his arm flop down onto the bed. He lays there for a moment before flipping onto his stomach and constructing a message to Dongmin. 

To: Dongmin  
im sorry. i shouldn’t have pushed u to talk about something u didn’t want to. 

Bin isn’t really expecting to get a response so he boots up his computer to play some video games before dinner. Just as he’s sitting down, his phone buzzes on the bed. Bin all but dives across his room to look at the message.

From: Dongmin

It’s ok. I overreacted too. I guess seeing them again really threw me off.

From: Dongmin

Not that I’m trying to make excuses. I reacted unfairly. 

Bin smiles at his phone, happy that Dongmin isn’t the type to hold a grudge.

To: Dongmin

i dont think you overreacted. i shouldnt have pushed you like that. 

From: Dongmin

About that.

From: Dongmin

I’ll tell you what happened. But not over text. Next time we meet I’ll tell you the whole story. 

To: Dongmin

u don’t have to

To: Dongmin

unless you want to

To: Dongmin

then im happy to listen

From: Dongmin

I want to. It’ll be nice to talk to someone about what happened.

From Dongmin: 

And for some reason, I trust you.

Bin feels a smile begin to stretch slowly across his face until he’s grinning like an idiot. He puts his phone down and smushes his face into his duvet. He squeals and squirms on his bed, giddy and unbelievably happy. Dongmin trusts him.

To: Dongmin

me 2. i trust you too.

From: Dongmin

Thanks. I’ll see you on Monday then :)

To: Dongmin

kk :D

 

 

They don’t end up seeing each other on Monday. Nor do they see each other Tuesday or any day that week. The holiday fair is in full swing starting at the beginning of the week and ending on the Friday so Dongmin is impossibly busy making sure everything runs smoothly. He does offer Bin a quick smile when they pass each other in the hallway. It’s polite and nowhere close to the smile Dongmin wears when they are alone together, but at least it’s something. 

It isn’t until Friday that the two are able to meet up in person. During their lunch break Dongmin waltzes up to Bin’s table.

“When are you done with practise tonight?” He asks, ignoring the shocked stares from the rest of the tables’ inhabitants. 

“Not until around seven.” Bin answers and he too ignores his friends as they look at him in awe. It’s almost as though they can’t believe that the student council president is actually talking to Bin. Only Minhyuk is seemingly unfazed, smirking before shovelling more food into his face. 

“Alright. Well, I’m pretty much done with everything for the holiday fair so, if you want, I can meet you after practise and we can talk?”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.” Bin says with a smile. Dongmin bows to the table and then makes his way out of the cafeteria.

“I know you told us you were hanging out with him to fix the snow globes over the weekend but some small part of me still didn’t believe you.” Jinwoo muses from his place at the end of the table.

“Yeah, that was kinda surreal.” Myungjun adds. “I know he’s just a regular person and all but some part of me kind of thought that he would be different. More dramatic or something. Like all the smart, popular kids in movies y’know?”

“I know I said earlier that I didn’t really understand all the hype but I think I get it now.” Sanha chimes in with a dreamy smile on his face. “He looks like an angel.” 

“I guess he forgave you then?” Minhyuk asks. Bin smiles and nods.

“He said that he’s gonna explain the whole thing too. We just haven’t had time to get together before today with all the stuff he had to do for the holiday fair.” 

“I hope everything goes smoothly. I really am rooting for the two of you.” 

“Awwwwwwwe. Thanks, best buddy!” Bin says, clinging to Minhyuk’s arm. The other boy shakes him off before punching him lightly in the arm. It’s more affectionate than anything else and Bin knows that Minhyuk’s always got his back.

As the day inches by Bin finds his thoughts drifting to Dongmin more than he’d like to admit. At first, it’s just abstract thoughts. Colours, sounds and smells. A girl in his class is drinking tea and he thinks of Dongmin. Someone is taking notes in lilac pen and he thinks of Dongmin and the sweater he wore when Bin went over to his house. He feels the slight warmth of the weak, watery rays of winter sunlight that shines through the classroom window and he thinks of Dongmin.

He tries and tries to get his mind to focus on his school work but ultimately he fails and he lets his mind drift. When he does, he starts to form more concrete thoughts about the student council president. He thinks about what Dongmin said before about not having any friends. He thinks about his own relationship with Minhyuk and how lost he would be without him. When Dongmin was angry with him the first thing he thought to do was call his friend but Dongmin didn’t have anything like that. It didn’t seem like his parents were ever home or that they’d be the type of people to talk to about personal problems. 

The more he thought about it the less sense it made. Dongmin presented himself around the school as a very open and likeable person. The kind of person that anyone could go to if they were having troubles of any kind. But who did Dongmin go to? How on earth was he able to pull off being so open and kind while still remaining a relatively closed off person?

Before Bin knows it school is out for the day and he’s heading to practise. All throughout their rehearsal Bin is distracted. Even so, he manages to get through the part he had practised on Sunday with ease. 

By the end of rehearsal the whole team is sweaty and exhausted. Most of them have collapsed to the floor, allowing the hardwood to cool their backs.

“Hey, how would you guys feel if I invited Dongmin to the movies?” Bin asks.

“Dude, it’s your life. Do whatever the hell you want.” Minhyuk responds from where he lies, splayed out, a couple feet away.

“No I mean with all of us.” The rest of the boys lift their heads to look at Bin.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I guess I just thought it would be nice if he had a group of people to support him, y’know. He might be popular at school but he doesn’t actually have any friends.”

Jinwoo looks around checking the reactions of the rest of the boys before answering.

“I’m fine with it. I just kinda figured that he wouldn’t want to hang out with people like us. That we were below him.”

“Nah. He’s not like that at all. He’s actually pretty awesome once you get to know him a little.” Bin says, and he can feel that goofy smile beginning to form on his lips. He does his best to stop it, knowing that he will only be teases and ridiculed by his friends.

“Oh my gosh. Binnie’s in love!” Sanha squeaks from where he’s sitting, all of a sudden filled with energy. 

“I’m not.” Bin denies, indignantly, knowing deep down that what he’s saying is not true.

“I just appreciate him for more than just his appearance now that I know him a little better.” 

Sanha squeals again and flings himself down across Bin’s stomach. Myungjun and Jinwoo catch on and pile on top of him. Then, lastly, Minhyuk leaps onto the top of the pile, thoroughly squashing Bin underneath. 

“Alright, alright, I like him! Just please get off. You’re crushing my spleen.” Bin wheezes out struggling under all the weight. 

Just then, they hear a delicate cough coming from the dance room door. There stands Dongmin in his school uniform, Bin’s spare sweater folded in his hands. There is a bright red blush that blooms on his cheeks and sweeps across the bridge of his nose. He meets Bin’s eyes and then quickly looks away like he’s embarrassed.

Bin prays that he hadn’t heard what he’d said as he scrambles out from under his pile of friends, causing them to collapse in a tangled mess of limbs. 

“Are you ready to go?” Dongmin asks timidly, still blushing. This is the first time that Bin has ever seen Dongmin being shy. Normally when he’s around the school doing student council president things he just knows how to command a room. This side of him is so different and it’s absolutely adorable. 

“Uh, yeah. Just let me change.” Bin says, taking the borrowed sweater from Dongmin’s hands and turning to retrieve his spare sweater from his bag. Myungjun and Jinwoo head over to Dongmin and begin discussing some kind of homework assignment or another while Bin changes. When he’s done he walks over to the rest of the group where Dongmin is frantically and animatedly explaining some part of a worksheet that he, Myungjun, and Jinwoo have to complete for the next day. The shyness is all gone as quickly as it had settled in and Dongmin is back to absolutely commanding the room. So much so that even Sanha and Minhyuk are paying attention to his words even though they won’t have to deal with anything this challenging for another couple of years. 

“Okay, I’m ready.” Bin says, slipping on his coat and shouldering his bag.

Dongmin turns to him with a little smile and gestures for Bin to head out of the dance room and the following him out. Dongmin turn back to offer a tentative wave goodbye to the rest of the dance team. Jinwoo, Myungjun and Sanha all wave back with enthusiasm and Minhyuk smiles and nods. 

Once they’re outside Bin asks,

“So, where do you wanna go? 

“I don’t know. I figured we could just walk. If that’s okay with you?” Dongmin says.

“Sounds good.” 

So they walk. It’s still winter and the sun has set long ago, its rays too weak to soak into the pavement anyways. They sky is clear and the further they walk away from the school the more stars they can see. 

At first they walk in silence, with only the sounds of their footsteps and the steady in and out of their breathing. Bin finds himself listening with more focus than ever before. He hears Dongmin’s breath hitch as if he’s about to speak but the words never come out. Instead he just sighs, steam billowing from his mouth out into the cold night air.

Eventually, Bin asks about the holiday fair, just to get conversation flowing. 

“How did the fair go?”

“It went well. We sold every single one of those snow globes.” Dongmin says with a smile. “Actually, I wanted to thank you.”

“What on earth for?” Bin asks, confusion evident on his face.

“For helping me with them. If it weren’t for you I never would have been able to finish them all by Monday.”

“I think you’ve forgotten that if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t have had to remake them at all.” Bin says with a chuckle. Dongmin’s cheeks start to turn pink and Bin doesn’t know if it’s from the cold or if it’s from him. He hopes it’s because of him.

“Yeah, well. The ones I made were kinda crap anyways. I don’t think anyone would have bought them.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. I’m sure they were lovely. I would have bought one.” 

“Even if it was bad?”

“Yes. Because you’re my friend and friends support one another.”

Dongmin raises his eyebrows and he’s got that dangerous, teasing smile on his lips.

“Oh so we’re friends? Don’t I get a say in this?” Bin knows the other boy is teasing and he decides to tease right back. He pulls together all of the acting skills he’s ever had and fixes his expression into the saddest face he can manage, even breaking out the puppy eyes he tries to use on his mom to get what he wants.

“If you don’t like it then never mind. I just thought…”

“No! No.” Dongmin says, eyes wide in surprise and panic. He hadn’t expected Bin to react like this. Normally he just teases right back. Dongmin grabs onto Bin’s coat sleeve, forcing him to stop and turn. 

“I like it. I was just teasing.” He says as earnestly as he can manage, hoping that Bin will believe him. 

Unable to hold it in anymore, Bin lets his smile bloom across his face. Dongmin looks even more surprised at the sudden change of mood. 

“Gosh, you are just so adorable.” Bin says through his chuckles. Dongmin’s eyebrows furrow together before he catches on that Bin is joking. He abruptly lets go on Bin’s coat sleeve and shove him back by the shoulder.

“You’re such an asshole!” He says. “I really thought that I hurt your feelings.” He punches Bin in the arm and goes in for the second hit when Bin catches his wrist pulling him a little closer till their chests are almost touching. 

“You’re so cute.” Bin says, repeating his sentiment from earlier. Suddenly Dongmin’s eyes go from surprise at finding himself so close to Bin, to a soft, distant kind of sadness.

“You have to stop saying that.” He says, head bowed, refusing to meet Bin’s eyes.

“Why should I, if it’s true?” 

“Because I’m scared.” Dongmin says. It’s all but a whisper, weak and quiet and Bin has never heard Dongmin sound like this before. 

“Scared of what? I’m not gonna hurt you.” 

“How do you know that? How can you be sure?” Dongmin sighs and pulls out of Bin’s grasp. “I guess I should explain what happened at the ramen shop last week. Maybe that will help you understand where I’m coming from.”

Dongmin leads Bin to a nearby park bench and they sit down. They sit in silence for a while as Dongmin gathers his thoughts and his courage. 

“Okay, so.” He starts. “That guy, the tallest one in the group? He went to my old school. He’s a year older than me so I guess he’s in university now. But, well basically, he used to be my boyfriend. Kind of? Or, well, we used to date? I’m not really sure how to label it but we were something.” Dongmin begins to fidget with his hands. Bin would love nothing more than to hold them and comfort him but he’s positive Dongmin wouldn’t like that so he keeps his hands to himself. He nods a little, showing that he’s listening and that Dongmin can continue whenever he would like.

“He approached me about a week after school had started and I didn’t really have a ton of friends so I guess I kind of just latched on. He was nice and he told me I was cute and perfect and everything. He always wanted to be near me and he was super touchy. Like, arm over the shoulder when he would walk me to class, hugs first thing in the morning when we would see each other. Pretty soon his friends were my friends and I did nothing but hang out with them. We played basketball together and soccer and he came to my piano recitals.” Dongmin stops fidgeting with his hands and tucks them deep into the pockets of his coat.

“And eventually I got the idea in my stupid fourteen year old head that he liked me. While he was definitely attracted to me, he didn’t like me. After about of month of us hanging out he started to… I don’t know… Court me? I guess? He would bring me flowers and chocolate and tell me I was beautiful and that he’d never met anyone quite like me. He told me every day that I was perfect and that we’d be perfect together until I believed him. 

So we started dating. If you could even call it that. He would bring me to his house after school and his parents were never home so we’d make out until we fell asleep.”

“He didn’t ever…” Bin interrupts, not really knowing how to phrase the question but needing to ask it. Luckily, Dongmin catches on.”

“No, no. God no. He may have been an asshole but he would never force someone to do something they didn’t want to. I wanted to be with him. I genuinely thought he loved me because I was fourteen and I thought that physical attraction equaled love.”

“You can’t blame yourself for this, Dongmin. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know that. But knowing isn’t the same as believing.”

Bin sighs. 

“Well, what happened next. Obviously you guys broke up?”

“Yeah, we broke up. Over all the time we had been together I had been wearing this mask. It’s what my parents had always taught me to do. It doesn’t matter how you’re really feeling, be polite and be helpful. I guess with the kind of work they do it makes sense. We always had to go to big company dinners and that was the cardinal rule. Be polite and be helpful. I guess I eventually got stuck like that. 

But as we were dating, the more time we spent together and the more I let little bits of who I really was out. He would tease me and I’d start to tease him back and he’d get angry. He expected me to be this perfect little house wife, submissive and quiet. Polite and helpful. He would always do this thing where he would invite me over after school and then when I would fall asleep he would sneak away. I never really figured out where he would go but when I would ask him about it he would just dodge my questions and then he would kiss me and hug me and I’d let it go. 

Eventually the mask cracked and I got angry. He wouldn’t answer my questions at all. He didn’t even try to lie, he just said that it was none of my business and walked away. So I followed him and we fought. He called me crazy and told me I was being ridiculous getting so worked up over something like this. Then he said, and I’ll never forget this, “If you’re going to be such a crazy bitch maybe we should just break up.” And, I don’t know. Something about those words stuck with me.

So we broke up and the next day when I got to school, my locker had been completely ruined. It was covered in graffiti and the lock had been snapped off. It took me a whole week to find all of my books. Apparently, he had spread some rumours about me being obsessive and crazy and everyone just believed him. In the span of a few hours I lost everything. My friends, my reputation, even my belongings. All because I dared to ask questions. 

I was lucky, though. I only had to suffer there for a couple of months before my parents decided that we should move to be closer to their offices. 

I told myself that I would never let anything like that happen to me again and the easiest way to do that would be closing myself off to everyone. My parents are both business people so learning to appear very open and friendly while simultaneously remaining remarkably closed off was relatively easy. And it all worked out fine until you made me drop all those snow globes.” 

Bin chuckles a little. Everything about Dongmin was starting to make a lot more sense. 

“So you’re saying that dropping those snow globes made you so angry that I cracked your mask?”

“Essentially, yeah.” Dongmin mutters

“And now that the mask is broken you’re finding it hard to fix?”

Dongmin just nods, eyes fixed on the ground.

“Then don’t.” 

Dongmin’s eyes snap to Bin and he stares at him like he’s just suggested that Dongmin eject himself into space without a spacesuit. Which, maybe that is what he’s suggesting, in a way.

“Don’t try and fix it. Look, I know it’s naive to say that I’m never going to hurt you because I can’t know that but I promise you that it’s literally the last thing I want to do.” Bin shifts on the bench so that he’s facing Dongmin head on.

“I like you. A lot. I mean, I’ve always thought you were beautiful but anyone with eyes can see that. Over these past couple of days we’ve spent together I’ve come to realize that all of that time I never really like you for you. The only reason I was ever able to figure that out was because now I know what it feels like. I can look at how I felt about you back then and compare it to now and it’s so different.”

Tears begin to well up in Dongmin’s eyes and he blinks rapidly, trying to stop them from falling reaching up to scrub his hand across his face.

“You’ve given me the privilege of seeing more of you than anyone else gets to and I will always be grateful. So whether you feel the same about me or not, please know that you don’t ever have to close yourself off around me. I like seeing you passionate and expressive. I like seeing you shy and quiet but most of all I like seeing you happy.”

Finally Bin takes Dongmin’s hand in his own, not holding to tightly and allowing Dongmin plenty of room to pull away, if he so chooses.

He doesn’t pull away. Instead he tangles their fingers together, squeezing Bin’s hand gently.

“I like you too. You make me feel like it’s okay to be myself, like I don’t have to be perfect all the time. You make me laugh.”

Bin smiles wider than ever before, completely content to sit in the wintery silence, fingers entangled with Dongmin’s, thumb stroking gently over the back of his hand. 

“So, what now.” Dongmin asks out into the quiet night air.

“We go slow.” Bin answers. “I’m happy, here, with you, like this.” He adds lifting their joined hands to indicate what “like this” meant. Dongmin smiles, brighter and wider than Bin has ever seen. He looks so happy with his squished up cheeks pushing his eyes into little crescents. He looks so beautiful, nearly glowing in the moonlight. Bin doesn’t think he’s been this happy in a long time.

“Okay.” Dongmin answers, adjusting their hands so he can hold on tighter. They sit together on that park bench with their fingers entwined for a long time, just smiling, happy to simply be sitting side by side. They sit like that until it gets too cold for them to bear even with their shared body heat. 

Bin walks Dongmin home despite Dongmin’s protests. He simply says,

“That’s what a good boyfriend does.”

“Oh, so we’re boyfriends? Don’t I get a say in this?” Dongmin shoots back, echoing his words from earlier with the same teasing smile. Bin puts on a fake pout and squeezes Dongmin’s hand in his.

“Well, if you don’t like it then, never mind. I just—“

“I like it.” Dongmin interrupts as they come to a stop in front of his house. He leans up and presses a quick kiss to Bin’s cheek before pulling away. He tosses a quick good bye over his shoulder while running up his driveway and into his house. 

Bin stands at the end of the drive way with his hand on his cheek, unable to process what had just happened. He walks all the way home in a stunned daze and it’s only when he’s inside and up in his room that he brain finally catches up with what happened. He lets himself collapse onto his bed lying there for a moment before his whole body scrunches up with giddy excitement. He rolls and wiggles across his bed trying to let out all his giddy energy as quietly as possible channeling it all into strangled squeaks.

There’s a knock on his bedroom door and his mom asks,

“Bin? Are you okay? Did something bad happen at dance practise?”

“Yeah, mom. I’ve never been better.”


	6. Chapter 6

When Bin wakes up the next morning the first thing he does is phone Dongmin. The student council president answers promptly, sounding like he’s been awake for hours even though it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. 

“Hey. What’s up?”

“That’s it? No, “Oh Bin, how I’ve missed you. These fretful hours we have been separated have been draining on my very soul. I could not sleep easily without you by my side.” 

“God, if I know you were gonna be this dramatic I never would have agreed to date you.”

“Oh my forsaken love! Cast aside before it even had blossom. Tossed aside before the sweet rain could saturate the soil in which we were to grow.” Bin sighs dramatically, draping a hand across his forehead even though Dongmin can’t see him.

“I’m hanging up now.” Dongmin says, sounding thoroughly exhausted by Bin’s antics.

“Wait!” Bin shouts into the receiver. 

“What is it?” Dongmin asks, with a sigh like he’s trying to sound exasperated but Bin can detect an underlying current of fondness. 

“How are you?” 

“I’m great. And you?” Dongmin asks with a little bit of a chuckle.

“Better, after hearing your voice.” 

“That was disgusting. I literally cannot leave my bed, I’m cringing so hard. I hope you’re happy with never seeing me again. I am bedridden by how cringey you are.” 

“Then I guess I’ll just have to come to you then.” Bin says, unable to control his smile as it spreads out across his face.

“Oh my god. Do not. My brother’s home today.” 

“So, you’re saying that if your brother wasn’t home you wouldn’t be opposed?” 

There is silence on the other side of the phone. 

“I’ll keep that in mind then.” Bin says with a sly smirk. Dongmin sighs again but it doesn’t sound nearly as weary as it’s probably meant to.

“I did actually have a reason for calling though.” Bin says. 

“I was thinking it would be nice if you and me and the rest of the dance team went to see a movie or something today. Would you be down?” 

Dongmin hums into the receiver. “That sounds nice but I’m not gonna be free to do much until like eight tonight.”

“That’s okay. We didn’t have any particular movie in mind so we can just watch whatever is playing when you’re ready to go.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” Bin hears someone calling for Dongmin on the other end of the phone. It sounds like a child so it’s probably Dongmin’s brother.

“I gotta go. But I’ll call you when I’m ready?”

“Sounds like a plan. Bye, Dongmin.”

“Bye bye, Binnie!” Dongmin all but chirps through the phone, giggling into the receiver before he ends the call.

How on earth can Dongmin be so opposed to his cheesy shit and then end then phone call like that? Bin quickly scrolls to his messaging app and selects his message with Dongmin.

To: Dongmin  
how dare u end our phone call like that

To: Dongmin  
u cant complain about me being cheesy and then b all cutesy and shit!!!!!

To: Dongmin  
u aren't allowed to do that ever again or ill die

From: Dongmin  
Don’t be dramatic. 

To: Dongmin  
u dont know!!!!!! u don’t know how it feels to be assaulted with cuteness every day!!!!!!

From: Dongmin  
I’m pretty sure I do. I spend a lot of time around you, don’t I?

To: Dongmin  
…

To: Dongmin

i h8 u

From: Dongmin

:)

To: Dongmin

u suc and im angry

From: Dongmin

Let’s compromise? We’re both allowed to be cheesy and act cute as long as we’re not in public?

To: Dongmin

…ok, we have a deal… Dongminnie

From: Dongmin

I’m glad. Okay, I have to go. Piano lesson in half an hour. Have fun and I’ll see you tonight!

To: Dongmin

kk. u have fun too! don’t work too hard. <3

From: Dongmin

<3

Bin smiles at the little heart for a while. He was still having a bit of a hard time getting his brain to realize that he really was dating Dongmin. Maybe because it had only really been a few hours and they hadn’t gone on any dates or anything yet. He just couldn’t believe that it was happening. 

He switches over to a group text with all of the members of the dance team to let them know the plan for later that evening. Everyone readily agrees to go to the movies. Any excuse to get out of the house on a Saturday night.

 

 

Bin’s day passes fairly normally. He gets some homework done, plays some video games and texts Dongmin some more. 

Soon enough it’s eight o’clock and Dongmin is finished with everything he needed to do for the day. They all head over to the theatre on their own agreeing to meet up in the foyer before buying tickets. 

Bin and Dongmin get a little distracted texting one another so they’re both running a little late. They arrive at the doors to the theatre at pretty much the same time and the rest of the dance team is waiting for them inside. 

“Thank god you guys got here in time. The movie is about to start!” Myungjun exclaims thrusting tickets into Bin and Dongmin’s hands, respectively. 

“I thought we were gonna pick the movie together?” Bin asks before looking at the ticket.

“Yeah, but you guys were taking so long we just decided to pick one.” Jinwoo says as he begins to walk toward the theatres.

“It’s not like there’s much playing right now anyways.” Minhyuk adds, handing his ticket to the employee who directs them to the appropriate theatre. The group follows suit and walks down the hallway to the last theatre and Bin sees Dongmin looking at the poster plastered on the wall.

“Um, what kind of movie is this, exactly?” He asks with a nervous gulp.

“I dunno. Some kind of horror movie, I guess. I think it’s about ghosts. Jinwoo and Myungjun have really been wanting to see it.” Minhyuk offers. 

“Oh. Great…” Dongmin says.

Bin looks at him, slipping his fingers in between Dongmin’s and squeezing lightly. 

“Are you gonna be okay?” He asks.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He says with a weak smile. “Besides, I’ve got you to protect me, right?” He turns his smile on Bin and it grows from nervous and watery to bright and blinding. Bin just stares unable to take his eyes off the beautiful boy in front of him. Unable to believe that he was dating someone so wonderful.

“Come on. We’re gonna miss all the previews. They’re the best part!” Dongmin says with enthusiasm that doesn’t quite sound genuine before tugging Bin into the theatre after the dance team who had already headed inside. 

 

 

Dongmin is very much not fine. To be fair, Bin hadn’t done a very good job of protecting him either. The previews do, however, happen to be the best part of the movie for the two of them. Even Jinwoo and Myungjun who were the ones who wanted to see the film in the first place were terrified. After about two hours of constant jump scares and blood and guts all six of them were pretty shaken. Sanha had buried himself under his coat and plugged his ears after about twenty minutes and the first gruesome murder. Minhyuk had abandoned his popcorn in disgust after the fifth death and Jinwoo had all but walked out of the theatre when the characters killed off the dog, thinking it was possessed. Myungjun had just screamed through the entire film. 

After the first jump scare Dongmin had clung onto Bin’s hand so hard he was genuinely afraid he might break something. Dongmin made it just a little longer than Sanha before curling into Bin and burying his face into his chest. Bin made it about halfway through the film before he was doing the same, curled around Dongmin, eyes squeezed tight focusing on keeping his breathing even and drowning out the screaming characters on screen by listening to Dongmin’s breathing. 

When the film was finally over the group wandered dazedly out of the theatre and into the foyer of the cinema. 

“Next time, Dongmin and I are picking the movie.” Bin says, still a little shaken.

Everyone just kind of nods vaguely, no one really wanting to argue after the film they had just seen.

They bid each other goodbye before heading their own separate ways. Dongmin and Bin head toward their homes together, hands entwined, talking about anything to keep themselves from thinking about the film.

They reach the crossroads where they should separate to head towards their own homes. Bin tries to unlink their hands but Dongmin keeps their fingers firmly entwined. He seems not to have noticed that Bin had even tried to pull away, just staring out into the vacant darkness of the street that leads toward his house. 

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Bin asks, startling Dongmin out of his thoughts. Abruptly, he lets go of Bin’s hand, like he’s been shocked.

“Oh, sorry.” He says fidgeting with his own hands. “Um, no. I’ll be okay on my own.” The smile he offers Bin is weak and watery, not quite reaching his eyes. Bin sighs and smiles back before scooping up Dongmin’s hand in his own dragging him down the street towards his house. Dongmin follows reluctantly at first but the more it seems Bin didn’t have any issue with walking him home the more comfortable he becomes.

They continued chatting about anything and everything until they’re in front of Dongmin’s house. There aren’t any cars in the driveway so his parents must be away again. Bin walks Dongmin all the way up to his front door before finally letting go of his hand. 

“Thank you for walking me home, Binnie.” Dongmin says, nickname falling from his lips with ease.

“It was my pleasure. Sleep well, Minnie!” Bin answers, as cutely as he can manage. 

“Please go away now.” Dongmin says, rolling his eyes and shoving Bin off the porch and onto the front walk way. Bin just turns back around with the brightest smile and Dongmin can’t help but smile back, letting out a little giggle before turning to open his front door. He turns back before closing the door behind him.

“Goodnight! I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” 

“Tomorrow.” Bin says and offers a little wave before Dongmin closes his door.

The front door stays closed for the amount of time it takes for Bin to get from the front walk way to the end of the driveway before he hears Dongmin calling out for him. He turns to see the student council president standing in the front door way, silhouetted by the light from inside. His shoulders are slumped forward and his head is bowed.

“Will you stay?” He asks. It’s so quiet that Bin can barely hear him. 

“What?” He asks, making sure he didn’t mishear.

“I know it’s a lot to ask and your family is probably expecting you home—“

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just text my mom and let her know.” Bin says jogging back up to the front porch until he’s standing in front of Dongmin whose head is still bowed.

“Normally, I wouldn’t ask. It’s just… there’s no one home at all. And I guess that film really freaked me out.” Dongmin says, lifting his face to offer Bin a small sheepish smile.

“It’s all good. Honestly, I don’t think I’d be able to sleep in an empty house either.”

The two boys head inside and up to Dongmin’s room. Bin had never been to the upper floor of Dongmin’s house before having been here just the one other time so when Dongmin leaves to find him some clothes to sleep in he takes the time to observe the other boy’s room. 

Everything is fairly ordinary. A double bed with dark blue sheets and a duvet with a galaxy printed on it, a desk pushed against one wall, a bookshelf piled high with all sorts of different books. Everything is fairly neat and organized except for some of the papers on the desk that Dongmin had clearly been working on before he had headed to the movie theatre. 

Some of the out of the ordinary things include a keyboard plugged into the wall, partially hidden by the door and those glow in the dark stars that you can stick onto your walls or ceiling with blu tack. 

Bin is behind the door looking at Dongmin’s piano when Dongmin returns with some sleeping clothes in hand. Not really thinking about how on edge the other might be after the movie, Bin steps out from behind the door. He doesn’t expect the wide eyed, open mouthed gasp of surprise that Dongmin lets out before nearly sprinting out of the room in fear.

“What the hell!” Dongmin shouts after he’s recovered a little from his shock, hand clutched over his heart. His eyebrows furrow and he’s lunging at Bin in an attempt to get him back for scaring him. 

“I’m sorry!” Bin laughs out, doing his best to dodge Dongmin’s jabbing fingers. He can’t get around Dongmin though so when the other lungs at him again, Bin catches his wrist and wrestles him backwards. 

Dongmin puts up a valiant fight but Bin is competitive and within minutes he has Dongmin pinned down on the bed. He jabs his fingers under Dongmin’s ribs and wiggles them causing the student council president to squirm back and forth, twisting around to try and dislodge Bin from him, laughing with abandon. Bin retaliates by pinning Dongmin’s thighs between his knees. In a last ditch effort Dongin attempts to use his free hand to tickle Bin back but it backfires when Bin easily snags it and pins it to the bed.

Dongmin tries a couple more times to twist out of Bin’s grasp giggling uncontrollably. Bin is laughing as well until he notices the position they have landed themselves in. He’s just kind of kneeling over Dongmin, knees framing his thighs, Dongmin’s hands pinned above his head. During their playful struggle Dongmin’s shirt had ridden up a little, exposing a strip of flesh above the waistband of his pants. His hair is fanned out against the deep blues and purples of his galaxy duvet, his cheeks are flushed and his eyes are bright. Bin really wants to kiss him right now.

“Sometimes I have trouble believing you’re a real person and not just someone I made up.” He says instead. Dongmin stops laughing and lets his smile eat up his entire face.

“I could say the same for you. Sometimes I think all this is too good to be true.” Dongmin says, tilting his head to the side a little. Bin doesn’t even register that he’s leaning closer until they’re but an inch apart and he can feel Dongmin’s uneven breath against his lips. He can’t tell if Dongmin is out of breath from the tickle fight or if it’s anticipation. He supposes it could be a little bit of both. 

“Is this okay?” Bin breathes out against Dongmin’s lips. Dongmin gives the smallest nod, giving one last tug to try and free his wrists from Bin’s grasp. Maybe so he can loop them around Bin’s neck and pull him impossibly closer until their lips press together. Maybe so he can run his fingers through Bin’s hair and tangle them tight in the soft strands, tugging lightly as Bin kisses him. 

Bin never does get to find out why Dongmin wanted his hands free because suddenly there’s a knock on the door. Dongmin is up and across the room in a matter of seconds and Bin ends up with his ass on the floor. 

It’s Dongmin’s brother. Apparently he needed to borrow a book and he’d meant to grab for it before he had gone to his friend’s house but he forgot so he needed to come back to pick it up.

Dongmin heads to his bookshelf and find the book with ease, sliding from its place and handing it to his brother. His brother thanks him and then scampers out of the house and back to his friends. 

Dongmin sighs as they hear the front door close. He goes to pick up the sleeping clothes from where he had dropped them when Bin had scared them. He hands them to Bin who hasn’t moved from the floor.

“We should probably get some sleep.” He says as he digs through his own drawers for some pyjamas. 

“Uh, yeah. Yes, we probably should.” Bin responds, still a little dazed from being tossed onto the floor so abruptly and all the events leading up to it. 

He heads to the bathroom to get changed and when he comes back Dongmin is in his pyjamas, a ridiculously oversized t-shirt and pyjama pants with little penguins on them, and tucked in on one side of the bed, book in hand. Bin fidgets in the bedroom doorway not really sure what to do. Dongmin notices him and pats the bed beside him, lifting the covers as an invitation. 

Bin crawls underneath them and gets himself comfortable, keeping a respectful distance between the two of them, respecting their agreement to go slow. Once Dongmin has put his book away and he’s all snuggled down into the covers he finds Bin’s hand amongst the blankets and entwines their fingers, giving Bin’s hand a small squeeze. Bin lifts their joined hand to his lips and presses a light kiss to Dongmin’s knuckles, feeling dozy and warm and utterly, irrevocably comfortable, in the physical sense of the word and also just so entirely mentally at ease it’s simply amazing. 

“Goodnight, Dongminnie.”

“Goodnight, Binnie.”


	7. Chapter 7

During the next couple weeks it feels as though nothing has changed and that everything has all at once. Dongmin starts to eat his lunch with the dance team and Bin sometimes stays late to help out with student council stuff on days he doesn’t have dance practice. Sometimes they don’t see each other all day, so they text pretty much constantly. On weekends they go on dates. Sometimes it’s late night ramen at the convenience store down the street. Sometimes it’s sappy romance movies and too much pizza, seated closer than strictly necessary on the big leather couch in Dongmin’s living room. 

Eventually Bin tells the rest of the dance team that he and Dongmin are actually dating and no one is really surprised. Jinwoo pats him on the back with a smile, Myungjun and Sanha squeal together before prancing around the practice room chanting, “Binnie’s got a boyfriend, Binnie’s got a boyfriend!” Minhyuk rolls his eyes but much later when they’re the only two left in the practise room He pulls Bin into a hug. 

“Congratulations, Bin. I’ll be honest. I really didn’t think your plan was gonna work but looks like everything just sorted itself out.” 

“Thank you, Minhyuk. Maybe you oughta give luck a try sometime. Take a chance. What’s the worst that could happen?” Bin says with a wink. Although he’s been swept up in his own little love story, he hasn’t been completely oblivious to the way his best friends eyes linger on the youngest member of their group. 

Minhyuk looks at Bin for a long time, seemingly contemplating his words. 

“Maybe you’re right…” He says, letting his word trail off.

“Come on. Let’s catch up with the others. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“By “them” do you mean your precious little boyfriend?” Rocky snarks as they gather their things. Bin laughs, colour rising to his cheeks.

“Can you blame me? It’s been nearly a week since I’ve seen him. He’s always so busy with student council.” He pouts.

“One, ew. And two, you literally spend every second of your life texting him. Why do you think none of us were surprised when you told us you were dating?”

“Look, it’s not the same.” Bin whines, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “It’s been weeks since I’ve seen him in person. I don’t get to see his stupid face when we’re texting. The way he smiles, the way he blushes. God, his eyes are so pretty and he’s got the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen and—“

“Okay you need to stop. Like, right now. That’s disgusting.” Minhyuk says with a scowl before breezing his way out of the dance room, leaving Bin to call out,

“One day, Park Minhyuk! One day, you’ll see. You’ll know what it’s like to be in love!” Before dashing after Minhyuk, not wanting to be left alone in the dark. 

 

 

Truthfully, he had been particularly excited to see his boyfriend ever since he had gotten a text that morning asking if he was free after dance practise. They hadn’t seen each other face to face in almost a week and he was missing Dongmin. Apparently the student council was trying to put together some kind of showcase to be held in a couple of weeks and it had been eating up all of Dongmin’s free time. 

After bidding the rest of the dance team good bye, he makes his way toward Dongmin’s house, but not without a fair amount of teasing from his friends.

It’s dark outside, but the air isn’t so cold as to be unpleasant, especially since they had been dancing excruciatingly hard. The sky is clear and the streets are shockingly empty for a Friday evening. Bin lets his mind wander as he walks down the long road to Dongmin’s house. 

He wonders about a lot of things. He wonders about their dance team. If they’ll ever have a chance to perform anywhere. If they’ll stick together after high school or if they’ll go their separate ways and let the distance between them break them apart. He wonders about Jinwoo and Myungjun, both working hard on their college applications, submitting them to schools all over the country. He wonders if they’ll stick together after they graduate. They’ve been close for as long as Bin has known them. He wonders if Sanha will be okay on his own once the rest of them graduate. He wonders about Minhyuk. Not about their friendship, though. That’s something he knows will stand the test of time. No he wonders if he really will consider taking a chance with Sanha before they are out of high school. He thinks they would make a cute couple. He wonders if Minhyuk will ever be famous. Not that he wants to be, but he’s certainly got the talent for it. Bin has tried over and over to get him to upload his dances to Youtube but so far, no luck. And finally, as he nears his boyfriend’s house, he wonders about Dongmin.

He wonders about mundane things like favourite colours and favourite ice-cream flavours. Does Dongmin prefer warm drinks or cold ones? Summer or Winter? Tea or coffee? Would he prefer to watch the sunrise or the sunset? How does he feel about the stars? There is still so much they have to learn about each other, the questions are practically endless. 

As he nears the end of his journey his thoughts devolve into something much more abstract. Soft black hair, flushed cheeks, a warm smile fighting against cold night air. Long eyelashes, bright, coffee brown eyes, sunbaked earth and crescent moons. Soft lips against his cheek, his arms bracketing Dongmin’s head, an almost kiss. Still lakes, cloudless skies and summer wind attempting to buckling tall, gangly river reeds that are stronger than their slender stalks appear. 

Sooner than he realizes, he’s knocking on Dongmin’s front door. He hears muffled footsteps approaching before the door is swung open to reveal a ruffled, sleepy looking Dongmin wearing black joggers and a massive white sweater the hangs loose on his slender frame. Dongmin smiles at him, wide and bright before moving aside to let him in. 

Bin slips his shoes off, feeling oddly overdressed still in his school uniform, sans tie. Somehow Dongmin seems to notice and even before Bin his finished hanging up his coat, he asks,

“Do you want to borrow something to change into?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Bin answers following Dongmin up to his room and plopping down onto his bed as Dongmin searches for some clothes. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washes over him and he allows himself to flop onto his back and stare up at the glow in the dark stars that are scattered over the ceiling. Not quite as dazzling as the real thing, but charming in their own right. 

He lets the soft sounds of Dongmin shuffling around his room and the comforting scent of the duvet lull him as his eyes slowly start to slip closed.

“Are you tired?” He vaguely hears Dongmin ask. He manages to gather enough willpower to nod his head. Dongmin chuckles softly and pads over to the bed. He prods Bin in the arm with a finger. When he gets no response aside from a groan, he pokes Bin in the side. Bin groans louder and tries to move away. Then Dongmin grabs both of Bin’s wrists and hauls him upward until he’s sitting. 

“Come on. It’s not gonna be very comfortable to sleep in your uniform. Just go get changed and then you can sleep.”

Bin groans at Dongmin’s very sound logic, refusing to budge from the bed.

“I need motivation. Give me something to motivate me to get up.” Bin says, cracking an eye open to gauge Dongmin’s reaction. The other boy just chuckles again. Then, with a soft pink blush painted high on his cheeks and a look that says he can’t quite believe he’s doing this, he climbs onto Bin’s lap and wraps his arms snuggly around Bin’s back, hugging him tight. 

Bin’s eyes fly open in surprise. He can’t quite believe this is happening either so he loops his arms tightly around Dongmin’s waist, holding him close, chest to chest. Subtly, as to not ruin the moment he pinches the back of his own hand, wanting to make sure that this isn’t some kind of exhaustion induced fever dream. It’s not.

Bin feels warm puffs of air against his neck as Dongmin buries his embarrassed face into the crook of his neck. Bin’s exhaustion has been pushed aside for now. All his nerve endings are on fire, hyper aware of every point of contact between them. Up until now, the most affection that Dongmin has show had been holding hands. And then there was the almost kiss that the had nearly shared before they were interrupted but since nothing of the sort had happened again, Bin had written it off as an anomaly. 

It’s not that Bin didn’t want this kind of affection. He did. He practically craved it from his boyfriend but every time he gets nervous about it he reminds himself of Dongmin’s past and his own promise to take things slow. Still ever since they had nearly kissed that night after the movie, it’s something that occupies a large portion of his mind. He gets distracted when they eat together, he gets distracted when they watch movies together, he gets distracted when they’re doing nothing because Dongmin has this god awful habit of chewing on fingers and it never fails to draw Bin’s attention to his lips. But, he promised to take things slow and if Dongmin wasn’t ready, then he wasn’t ready. 

Although this kind of physical attention from Dongmin is rare, it takes less than a minute for Bin to get completely comfortable holding him like this. The boy is heavy on his thighs and his bony ass is cutting off the circulation to Bin’s legs but somehow he doesn’t mind. 

“Is this good enough motivation?” Dongmin asks and Bin can feel his lips moving about a hairsbreadth away from his neck. It nearly sends shivers down his spine. 

“Nope. I’m pretty sure we have to stay like this forever now. You’re never getting up again.” Dongmin chuckles and Bin can feel it in his own chest.

“C’mon, Binnie. Some of us still have work to get done before we can sleep.” Bin pulls away a little so he can look Dongmin in the face.

“Seriously?” He asks incredulously. Dongmin lets out a weary sigh and nods.

“Aw, come on. You’re clearly just as tired as I am. Any work you do get done tonight is going to be a far cry from your best. Sometimes you just have to leave things and get some rest. Then you can come back to it all well rested in the morning.” Dongmin sighs again and looks forlornly at the pile of papers on his desk before looking back at Bin. 

“I guess you’re right. I’m not gonna be able to focus with you here anyways.” He says climbing off Bin’s lap. Bin already misses the warmth. 

“Come on. Go and get changed so we can go to sleep.” Dongmin says, helping Bin stand. They end up closer than either of them had anticipated, nearly nose to nose. Dongmin isn’t shy at all, looking Bin directly in the eyes, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. His tongue darts out and wets his bottom lip pulling it in between his teeth before letting it go. It’s Bin who ducks away with a gulp, head down, blush crawling its way onto his cheeks. He steps around Dongmin to retrieve the sleeping clothes the boy had gotten out for him and then he darts into the bathroom to change and to calm himself down. 

He was certainly not used to Dongmin being so forward? If you could even call it that. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him and Dongmin’s lips had just been dry. Yes, that must be it. Though, his lips didn’t look dry. He should know. He spent enough time staring at them.

When he’s finished he heads back into Dongmin’s room and is greeted by a familiar sight. 

Dongmin is snuggled up in his bed, book propped on his knees, moonlight falling through the window, silvery white light making Dongmin’s skin glow in the darkness. He looks up when Bin enters the room and smiles that soft smile that’s so content and warm Bin almost doesn’t know what to do with himself. 

But he does know what to do. This time Dongmin doesn’t have to lift the covers for him or pat the bed in invitation. Bin just strides confidently across the room and clambers under the covers, jostling Dongmin and making him giggle. The boy closes his book and places it on the window sill before snuggling down into the covers. As soon as he’s comfortable he reaches for Bin’s hand which Bin gladly gives to him. 

Instead of immediately falling asleep like last time, Dongmin begins to play with Bin’s fingers, tracing nonsense patterns over the back of his hand and across his palm. It tickles but Bin doesn’t want to pull away. 

“Hey, Dongmin?”

“Mhmm?” 

“Would you rather watch the sunrise or the sunset?”

It’s quiet for a while, Dongmin seemingly contemplating his answer.

“I don’t think it really matters all that much.” He finally answers.

“How so?”

“Well, as long as I’m with you I don’t think that I’d really mind.” He says, breaking out into a fit of giggles before he has the whole sentence out. Bin joins in, laughing and curling into himself like he’s cringing at Dongmin’s cheesiness. In reality, he finds it adorable and he also agrees. As long as it’s the two of them he doesn’t much mind whether it’s the beginning of a new day or the end of an old one. 

“Sorry, that was gross.” Dongmin chokes out when he’s calm enough to speak semi properly. Bin just shakes his head.

“Okay, now it’s your turn. Ask me something.”

“Aw, come on. I’m not prepared for this! You have to give me at least a day to organize all the questions I have to ask.”

“Dongminnie…” Bin whines, “Just ask the first thing that comes into your head.”

A few beats of silence.

“Okay… What do you like, besides dance?” 

“Really?” Bin scoffs.

“What? You never answered back when we ate together for the first time! It’s only fair that you answer now.” Dongmin shoots back firmly.

“Fine, fine.” Bin hums in mock contemplation.

“Well, besides dance… I guess…”

“God just spit it out, you weirdo.” Dongmin says, poking the centre of Bin’s palm.

“You. I like you.”

The smile that spills over Dongmin’s face is blinding in the semi darkness, the moonlight catching the edges of his teeth and his lips. The dark shadows and silver light showcase the tiny hills and valleys that crease beside his eyes when he smiles his widest smile. Then he pushes Bin in the shoulder. Hard. Which causes him to whine and poke Dongmin in retaliation.

Soon enough, the two boys are wide awake, poking each other playfully and laughing loudly and with abandon. They don’t need to be concerned about anyone else hearing them because Dongmin’s house remains empty aside from the two of them. 

“Hey, we should go somewhere.” Bin says abruptly and Dongmin looks at him with his eyebrows raised, hands poised for the attack.

“What do you mean? Right now?” He asks, a little shocked at Bin’s sudden declaration.

“Yeah, right now. It’s Friday night. We don’t have school tomorrow, you’re in your final year and your parents aren’t home. What better time to sneak out?”

“Okay. But where would we go?” Dongmin asks, head cocked curiously to the side.

“Anywhere. That’s the beauty of it all. We can go anywhere we want with no one expecting us to be anywhere in particular. Just me and you and all the freedom in the world.” Bin says and he smiles and takes Dongmin’s hands in his own.

Dongmin thinks for a moment, attempting to mull over the consequences in his head before making a rash decision. But with the way Bin is watching him, open and honest, he feels like every ounce of him is tugging his feet and his hands, asking him to follow Bin where ever he wants to go. 

“Alright.”

“Alright?”

“Yeah. and actually I think I know the perfect place for us to go.” Dongmin says excitedly. He’s up and out of the bed, tugging Bin with him, out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Before Bin knows it, they’re slipping on their shoes and Dongmin is gesticulating frantically, trying to describe the place that he’s thinking of.

“…anyways, I’m not doing it justice. You’ll just have to wait until we get there. You can see the stars for miles. It’s amazing.” Dongmin finishes. Once Bin has his shoes on, Dongmin takes his hand again and leads him out the front door. 

Bin can’t help but say, as they tumble out of the house and into the now frigid night air,

“You’re amazing.” and Dongmin looks over his shoulder with the most perfect smile Bin has ever seen before forging ahead into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back again with another chapter! there will probably be just one more after this. I hope you enjoy and thank you all so much for the support <3 it means the world to me :)

They walk fast, wintery chill nipping at their heels, laughter bubbling upward and outward toward the sky. They hold hands the whole way relishing in the warmth of their entwined fingers. Something about the night, or the cold or maybe just the company is intoxicating. Bin would wonder if he was dreaming, if this was real but then Dongmin squeezes his hand and pulls him away from the street and down a narrow dirt path that leads into the forest and he can smell the trees and the earth. He can hear the rustle of the wind through the leaves and the rattle of branches against branches. He can feel the twist of Dongmin’s hand in his as he is pulled down yet another narrow trail. The light from the street grows more and more distant until nothing can be seen but black night and the odd shapes that move within it. 

Bin thinks that maybe, were he alone, he would be spooked by the darkness, the ever present blackness that drapes itself over them like fabric. With Dongmin here though. With Dongmin here he feels safe. The darkness feels more like velvet than anything and the night is not so cold. He wonders absently if this is what it feels like to be in love.

Suddenly, the forest becomes less and less dense, trees seemingly moving out of their path to make way for them. Then they are tripping and stumbling together out of the woods, Bin’s laughter, loud and boisterous, fades into stunned silence as he takes in the scene before him. They are bathed in moonlight. In front of them lies a vast green sea of grass, tall and willowy, bending to and fro in the winter wind. The whole field ripples and undulates like ocean waves. Bin can’t quite believe a place like this exists just on the outskirts of the city.

“Well, this sure is somewhere.” Bin says, breathy and awestruck as the wind buffets his face, stinging his cheeks pink. 

Dongmin squeezes his hand quickly and leads him out into the field. Once they reach somewhere near the middle he plops down. The grass is a couple inches over his head when he’s sitting. Bin joins him, crosslegged on the ground. Dongmin cranes his neck upward to gaze at the stars and Bin follows suit. 

For a long time they sit in silence with just the rustle of the grass disturbing the night air. All too soon, Bin feels the back of his neck start to cramp up and he tilts his head forward to try and relax it a little. Dongmin notices and crawls forward a little to push Bin down so he’s laying on his back in the grass. Then he turns and lies down as well, close enough to reach out and touch but not shoulder to shoulder. 

“It’s easier like this.” Dongmin whispers, not wanting to break the quiet. 

Bin frowns at the distance between the two of them and reaches out to take Dongmin’s wrist in his hand, tugging gently to try and get him to move closer. Dongmin understands and wiggles a little closer but not quite close enough. Bin shuffles in the rest of the way so they are pressed right up against each other. He gestures for Dongmin to lift his head and slips his arm underneath, allowing Dongmin to use his shoulder as a pillow. 

It is easier to see the stars like this. And as fluffy grey clouds roll across the sky and Dongmin snuggles closer into the warmth of his chest Bin thinks that, maybe, he’s never been happier.

“How on earth did I get this lucky.” He says out loud before nuzzling his nose into Dongmin’s hair, letting the scent of his boyfriend wash over him.

“Well, you ran into me while I was carrying a large box filled with breakable snow globes. On purpose, might I add.”

“I didn’t expect you to drop them! I was just trying to start a conversation!” Bin squawks back. He knows he should be embarrassed by his past actions but they got him to here so he can’t really complain.

“You could have just approached me like a normal person, you know.”

“Be honest. You wouldn’t have even give me the time of day if I had tried to ask you out like everyone else.”

There’s a beat of silence from Dongmin.

“See? That’s what I thought.” Bin says, smugly.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t have! I don’t turn down everyone before you, you know. Never anything serious though. Nothing more than a first date. They all ended up being boring or like they didn’t really know what to do once they’d won their prize, I guess.”

They sit in silence for a while longer, Bin rolling a question over in his mind until it’s sitting on the tip of his tongue.

“Just out of curiosity. Why did I deserve more than a first date?” He asks.

“You’re cute.” Dongmin answers simply and Bin scoffs out a laugh.

“Shut up, it’s true!” Dongmin giggles. “But honestly,” He adds, sobering a little. “You came to my house to help me make new snow globes even though I gave you an out. I made it clear that you didn’t have to help but you still did. And you didn’t make fun of me for getting over emotional about tv shows. And you make me laugh. I think that’s the biggest part.”

Bin can feel himself getting a little emotional and he squeezes Dongmin a little closer to him, tucks him in just a little tighter. Fluffy, clouds have grown dark and take over most of the sky now, blotting out the light of the moon. The grass shushes as it billows around them.

“I’m glad that it isn’t just cause I asked you out in a unique way.”

“You pushed me over when we first met for real.” Dongmin deadpans.

“Look, someday it’ll be a great story to tell the kids.”

Dongmin turns his head as best he can to look at Bin with raised eyebrows.

“Kids already? God, Bin you really don’t mess around with this whole relationship thing.”

“I’m just saying… Hypothetically, in the future, would you ever want kids?”

Dongmin pauses for a moment, nuzzling his head back into Bin’s shoulder.

“I think so.” He says contemplatively. “Not for a long time though. I’m not gonna be one of those people who wants to settle down right as soon as they’ve graduated university, you know? But I think eventually, yeah, I’d like to have kids.”

Bin nods in acknowledgement. 

“What about you?” Dongmin asks.

“Yeah, I’d like kids. I’d make an awesome dad.” He says with a smile. Dongmin punches him lightly in the chest and Bin laughs. 

“So what do you want to do after everything? After university when you’re a real adult.”

“Ugh, I don’t know, Bin. I want to live in a penthouse apartment, or a cottage by the ocean or a cabin way up in the mountains. I want to be able to come home from a job I’m passionate about to a person I love. I want to own a pet, maybe a dog or a cat or both. I want to have time to cook and bake and read and play the piano. I never ever want to stop learning things but I guess out of everything I just want to be happy.”

Silence stretches out between the two of them, heavy and soft in the air. Bin is busy imagining himself in the life Dongmin has constructed. Every moment of it feels like something he had never know he wanted. But when he imagines himself, older by about ten years, seated on the couch sipping coffee as Dongmin tinkers on the baby grand in the corner, early morning light spilling across the keys and his hands through the huge picture window that out looks the city, he feels right at home.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off like that. It’s just the deadlines for college applications are coming up and everyone’s telling me I have to start figuring out the rest of my future. It’s stressful.”

“It’s okay.” Bin says simply, lifting his unoccupied hand to run his fingers through Dongmin’s hair. Dongmin sighs into the touch and buries the tip of his freezing nose into Bin’s shoulder.

“Dongmin?” 

Dongmin grunts in acknowledgement.

“Are you happy now?”

The boy lifts his head from Bin’s chest and rolls over onto his stomach so that he can look Bin directly in the eyes.

“The happiest I’ve been in a very long time.” He says with so much quiet honesty that Bin kind of wants to cry.

“Listen. I actually have something I want to tell you. I was gonna wait and tell the whole dance team on Monday when everything was finalized but I stayed late for a couple nights to get everything in order.”

Bin props himself up on his elbows and looks curiously at Dongmin. The whole team? What could he possibly have to say that applies to all of them?

“So you know the showcase that the student council has been working on?”

Bin nods.

“Well, we’ve decided that it’s gonna be an arts showcase. Hopefully it will put the spotlight on some of the very talented artists we have at the school. There’s gonna be a whole bunch of booths set up on the floor so that people can showcase their art. You know, the sculptors will have their pottery and the painters will have one for their paintings and so on. But, I finally convinced them that we should have a show at the end to round out the night. The improv team is gonna perform and some students wanted to do monologues.” Dongmin rambles. Bin would find it endearing if he weren’t so anxious about what this has to do with the dance team. 

“Anyways, my point is. I made room in the program for the dance team to perform in between each of the monologues.”

Bin blinks up at his boyfriend, not really believing what he’s hearing. They’re gonna perform?

“I know it’s a lot to ask seeing as the showcase is only three weeks away but if you can then there are three, five minute spots for you guys to perform in. Of course, you don’t have to do all three if you don’t want to or if it seems too much.”

“Are you serious?” Bin interrupts.

“What do you mean? About the showcase? Of course I’m serious.” Dongmin says, brows furrowed like he’s second guessing himself. Maybe this isn’t what Bin wanted at all…

He pulls himself up so that he’s sitting crosslegged in front of Bin who tucks his feet in to give Dongmin more room. 

“I’m sorry. If this isn’t something you want you don’t have to do it. I just remembered hearing Minhyuk and Jinwoo talking about how terrible it is that all the teams practise goes to waste because you guys never have anywhere to perform.”

“Are you kidding me!” Bin exclaims. It’s loud and Dongmin jumps a little at the noise.

“This is, like, the second best thing that’s ever happened to me. I can’t wait to tell the rest of the team. They’re gonna be over the moon. Y’know, I’m just gonna text Minhyuk right now and let him know.” Bin says, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. 

Dongmin lets out a sigh of relief and giggles at Bin’s enthusiasm. Bin glances up from his phone to see Dongmin watching him with so much fondness. He feels a smile begin to sneak its way across his face.

He discards his phone into the long grass and tackles Dongmin onto his back. Dongmin squawks in surprise before wrapping his arms loosely around Bin’s back and laughing. Bin just lays down on top of his boyfriend, squeezing him tightly and pressing his face into his neck.

“Dongminnie! You’re the bestest ever!” He says in the squeakiest, faux cute voice he can manage. Dongmin just keeps laughing.

“Oh my god, get off me. You’re crushing my lungs!” 

Bin laughs but slide off to lay on his stomach beside Dongmin instead. Dongmin takes Bin’s hand in his and entwines their fingers before bringing their closed hands to rest on his own chest.

They lay together like that for a long time, sometimes they talk but mostly they just sit and enjoy the silence and each others company. They only begin to think about going home when the first rays of sunlight begin to peak over the horizon painting the cloudless sky a soft lavender. 

They stand together, stretching their sore muscles and waking their stiff bones. Then they entwine their fingers again and head back toward Dongmin’s house. The walk back is peaceful with tiny early morning birds twittering their wake up call and flitting back and forth from branch to branch. 

When the two boys do finally make it back they barely make it up to Dongmin’s room before they collapse down onto the bed and snuggle deep under the duvet. They fall asleep, entwined in each other once again. The false stars on the ceiling glow dimly, a mocking echo of the stars they had seen that night.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty so this is it! this is the end! fret not though, i will be back soon enough with more contributions to the astro fic community. i hope you all enjoyed this story and i hope you will continue to enjoy my writing! i really do appreciate ever single kudos and comment that i get and dont be afraid to reach out to me on tumblr and shoot me a message if you want! id like to especially thank my wonderful beta summerela for looking through each and everyone of these chapters before i post them and also for making the request that inspired this work. its nt exactly what you asked for but i hope you enjoyed it none the less :) anyways! i hope you all enjoy this final chapter and stay tuned for more writing in the future!!

The next day Bin texts the dance team, telling them what had happened. They are all completely blown away by the fact that they’ll be able to perform in front of a real live audience for the first time. They are a little less thrilled when they find out they only have three weeks to prepare.

“Three weeks! To prepare three dances?” Myungjun exclaims.

“Look, I know just as well as the rest of you that it isn’t a lot of time. All the more reason we should be spending it working instead of standing around being surprised.” Bin answers.

“You’re right, Bin. It’s just that Myungjun and I have college applications to do. It’s gonna be hard to find time to get together. Maybe we should turn down Dongmin’s offer.” Jinwoo says and Myungjun nods.

“Better to not perform at all then have it fall apart mid show.” He agrees. Suddenly, Sanha pipes up.

“That’s ridiculous! We talk all the time about how all we’ve ever wanted is to perform for an audience and now that we finally have the chance, you guys wanna back out? I don’t think so.”

“I agree with Sanha.” Minhyuk chimes in. “Just think. This is probably gonna be our one shot to perform together as a group before you guys graduate. The chances of us ever having an opportunity like this again are ridiculously small.”

“But how! Mungjun’s gonna be starting his auditions for schools and I have about thirty college essays to get done. We’ll have to meet in the middle of the night or early mornings before school starts. Are you willing to do that?” Jinwoo asks. 

“I am.” Sanha says, raising his hand. Minhyuk raises his immediately after.

“It’s our dream to perform together. This might be our only shot.”

Bin raises his hand as well. 

“We’ve got one shot. Let’s not throw it away.”

Myungjun’s hand joins the raised ones.

“We’ll figure a way to work around our college stuff. Minhyuk’s right. This is our dream.”

Jinwoo looks at all of his friends with their hands held high in the air and, reluctantly, he raises his hand as well.

“If we’re gonna do this, we do it as a team.” 

 

 

With that sorted, the boys get to work. They spend every spare moment they can in the dance room. Sometimes they practise individually or in smaller groups if not all of them can make it. Bin and Dongmin barely see each other in person during the weeks of hectic practise. They text frequently and they talk on the phone nearly every night before going to sleep. 

They don’t really talk about much of anything. Just inane chatter mostly. An excuse to hear one another’s voice. One night, after reiterating Myungjun’s experience at one of his vocal auditions Bin asks,

“Where are you applying.” Dongmin hums quietly. He’s been quiet through most of the phone call tonight. Bin had just assumed that Dongmin was tired. While the dance team was preparing frantically for their performances, Dongmin had been making sure that every other part of the showcase went according to plan. 

“You know, the usual places. Some universities here, some Ivy League schools overseas. My parents want me to be a lawyer or if I can’t get into Harvard, they want me to go into business like them.”

Bin feels his heart drop into his stomach at the thought of not being able to see Dongmin in person for four or more years. These past weeks had been hard enough and they still see each other at school sometimes. But if that’s what Dongmin wants then he has to be supportive.

“But, Bin. Can I tell you a secret?” 

“Of course. You can tell me anything.” Bin replies.

“Today I went and auditioned for KNUA. I didn’t tell my parents I was going. I didn’t even tell them I applied.”

Bin sits up in his bed, a little shocked at this act of rebellion but happy nonetheless.

“Music school? For piano?”

“Yeah. They’re supposed to have some of the best professors in the world. It’s my dream school. If I actually got in… Well, I don’t know. I guess I’d have to find a way to convince my parents that it’s worth it.”

“You’ll get in. I’m sure.”

“You’ve never even heard me play, Bin.”

“Well, yeah. But you’re you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dongmin asks with a laugh.

“You’re amazing. And I’ve seen you talk about piano. There is no way you could have that much passion for something and not be good.”

Dongmin laughs a little on the other side of the phone.

“And when it comes to convincing your parents. I wouldn’t worry too much. If they can see in you even a fraction of what I see then they’ll know how happy it would make you They’d never take that away from you.”

“Thanks, Bin. You’re pretty amazing yourself.”

They chat for a little while longer before bidding each other good night. Bin has practise early in the morning and he needs to be well rested, Dongmin insists. Bin would have been happy to stay up and chat all night but his boyfriend does make a solid point.

 

 

Performance night creeps up on them all faster than they can believe. Since the rest of the school has the option of staying in class or skipping and going to the showcase, nearly the whole school is there. Currently most of the students are milling about the floor. They investigate the different booths, each displaying different type of art. There are paintings and sculptures and pottery and drawings and all kinds of other things. 

Meanwhile, the dance team is crowded into a classroom turned green room going over their set one last time. 

Myungjun and Jinwoo go off to stretch for the performance while Minhyuk helps Sanha with a particularly tricky part of the choreography. Bin is standing in the corner under the prettiness of stretching. In reality, he’s texting Dongmin. 

From: Dongmin

Good luck out there today!!!! Not that you need it at all.

To: Dongmin

wut? ur not even gonna wish me luck in person?

From: Dongmin

Isn’t it bad luck or something?

To: Dongmin

no?????? i think ur thinking of brides on wedding days

From: Dongmin

Hmmmm. I’m pretty sure it’s bad luck.

To: Dongmin

doesnt matter. idc. come here and wish me luck in person

From: Dongmin

On my way!

 

True to his word, Dongmin shows up outside the green room about five minutes later. He pokes his head in the door with a smile.

“How’s everything going in here? It’s packed out there. I think we might have a full house.” He says brightly. Sanha pales considerably and dashes out of the room toward the bathroom. Minhyuk follows close behind muttering something about nerves.

“Sorry.” Dongmin says sheepishly.

“It’s okay.” Jinwoo consoles. 

“We’re all just a little nervous. This is the first time we’ve ever performed.” Myungjun adds. Dongmin nods in understanding.

“Well, I just came by to wish you all good luck. I know you guys are going to do awesome. You’ve been working hard for this. There’s no way you could have this much passion for something and not be good at it.” He says, echoing Bin’s words from a few nights before.

“Bin, can I talk to you for a moment. Outside?” He adds.

Bin is a little surprised but he follows Dongmin outside, ignoring his friends’ obnoxious wolf whistles.

“What’s up?” He asks, once they’re out in the hallway. 

“Not much. I thought you wanted me to come wish you luck?” There’s this smile on his face that to any outsider would look completely innocent. Except Bin knows Dongmin and he knows that smile and it means nothing good.

“Didn’t you just wish us all good luck? I mean you made Sanha throw up in the process but you tried your best.”

“And what if I had something special for you?”

“Well, that’s not very inclusive. Isn’t that the schools MO? Be tolerant and inclusive? What would they do if they found out that their own Student Council President was leaving people out? His own friends at that!” 

Dongmin rolls his eyes and then he’s grabbing the front of Bin’s shirt and pulling him in, pressing their lips together, hard.

Bin tenses up briefly before relaxing into the kiss. Dongmin’s lips are just as soft and warm as he had imagined them to be. And he had imagined them a lot. Ever since the night of their near kiss he’s been thinking about how Dongmin’s lips would feel pressed to his own. He wondered from on their first date at the ramen shop if he would taste like ramen. After the movie he had wondered if he would taste like popcorn. In every moment of quiet calmness between the two of them, he had wondered what it would be like to kiss Dongmin and now that it was actually happening, he could barely believe it. 

Dongmin presses his lips harder against Bin’s, gently poking his tongue out to run along the seam of Bin’s lips. Bin easily grants him access, anticipating finally having an answer to what Dongmin tastes like. 

Turns out he tastes a lot like summer. Warmth and green tea. Sunlight and vanilla. Dongmin’s hand grips his shirt a little harder and he pulls away from the kiss for a moment. Then he leans in to press a peck against Bin’s lips once, twice and then he’s untangling his hands and stepping away fully. He looks mussed. His cheeks are bright pink and his lips are a little kiss swollen and slick with spit. He blinks at Bin who knows that he must look pretty much the same if not worse. Then Dongmin smiles this coy little smirk.

“Still want me to be inclusive?” He asks with a raised eyebrow. Bin just shakes his head dumbly, still a little in shock at his boyfriend’s sudden boldness. A stage hand pokes his head out from the stage door and yells toward the green room.

“Five minutes!”

“You better get going.” Dongmin says, like nothing even happened between them. Bin still feels shell shocked. How on earth is he supposed to dance now. He’s not gonna be able to think of anything but Dongmin. 

The boy in question looks around quickly before leaning in to press one last kiss on Bin’s lips before whispering “Good luck!” and then darting away down the hall to tend to his duties. 

Eventually, Bin gathers his wits about him and heads into the green room to gather Myungjun and Jinwoo and the three of them head backstage. Minutes later Sanha and Minhyuk join them.

“Where on earth were you two!” Myungjun scolds.

“Look, we would have come back earlier but Bin and Dongmin were making out in the hallway and we didn’t think it would be very kind to interrupt.” Minhyuk shoots back. Bin feels the tips of his ears heat up as Jinwoo lets out a long low whistle.

“Damn, getting that student council president lovin’ there, Bin?”

“Don’t make our sweet and innocent first kiss into something gross, you asshole.” Bin responds, blushing even harder.

“Innocent, my ass.” Minhyuk mutters under his breath.

Bin shoves him in retaliation but before he has time to come up with a comeback the stage hand is ushering them into the wings to get ready to head on stage. 

The stage lights go out and the kid that had just finished her monologue scurries off stage. The dance team heads out and gets into their positions.

Honestly, as soon as the stage lights turn on Bin’s mind clears out as he lets the pounding music guide his body through moves he’s been practising relentlessly for weeks. There are a couple mistakes here and there but overall their performances go well. They complete their last number with barely a hitch and they even get a standing ovation for their high energy performance. 

The team stumbles off the stage, sweaty and still filled with adrenaline. They jog their way from backstage to the green room, getting congratulated by the crew and the volunteers along the way. The team whoops and hollers their way down the hall, jumping around with arms slung over shoulders and plenty of high fives. 

They’ve been cooling down for a couple minutes when the green room door flies open and Bin finds his arms full of a very happy Dongmin. He’s got his arms slung around Bin’s neck and his fingers tangled in his sweaty hair and Bin nearly falls over backwards with the force of the hug. He wraps his arms around Dongmin’s back, holding him close. 

Dongmin kisses him twice on the lips. Just two short pecks before he’s smiling far too hard to accomplish any real kissing. Sanha pretends to throw up in the corner of the room and Minhyuk laughs. 

 

“That was amazing! You guys were amazing!” Dongmin says, pulling away from Bin slightly to address the rest of the group. Bin doesn’t let him go far though, keeping his arms linked around Dongmin’s back. 

“Minhyuk, those spins in the second number were amazing! And I had no idea you could do flips! It was so cool. Jinwoo, Myungjun. That part in the first song. I’ve never seen anything like that! The finale of course was just absolutely amazing! Sanha your part was phenomenal. And you were all so in synch! Honestly, it was so amazing.” Dongmin gushes, turning to each member of the dance team in turn. 

“What about me?” Bin pouts, tugging at Dongmin’s sweater to get his attention. His boyfriend turns back to him with a smile and kisses him on the cheek. 

“You’re always amazing to me.” He say with a wink. Bin can’t even find it in himself to be mad at the cheesiness. He’s just completed his first dance performance in front of an audience, he’s surrounded by his friends and he’s got the most wonderful, beautiful boy in his arms. Nothing could possibly ruin his day.

“Come on, you guys. You did some amazing work here today. Let’s go out for ramen. My treat.” Dongmin says and the dance team goes wild. They all start gathering their stuff, slapping Dongmin on the back in thanks as the go. 

As the rest of the boys gather their things, Bin pulls his boyfriend back into his embrace. Dongmin naturally buries his face in Bin’s neck, not caring that he’s nearly drenched in sweat. Bin kisses Dongmin’s neck and then moves up to his cheek, nudging him with his nose until he untucks his face from Bin’s neck. Then Bin presses a sweet kiss to his lips and Dongmin responds immediately. He tangles his fingers in Bin’s hair, tugging lightly, causing Bin to part his lips. 

Suddenly, there’s the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway to the green room. Bin and Dongmin part and look toward the sound.

The rest of the dance team are standing there with their bags, heads poking into the room, unimpressed but fond looks on their faces as Dongmin blushes and Bin offers them all a cheeky smile. 

“Y’all can make out on your own time.” Myungjun chirps from the doorway. “At this rate the ramen place’ll be closed before we even get there!”

“Alright, alright. We’re going.” Bin grumbles, taking Dongmin by the hand and gathering his things. 

 

They head out of the school like that. Bin and Dongmin are hand in hand, Minhyuk’s got his arm slung around Sanha’s shoulder on one side of them and Jinwoo and Myungjun are shoving each other back and forth down the street, trying their best to make the other fall over. All of them are still pumped full of post performance adrenaline as they make their way to the ramen shop. The sun is setting, dying the sky orange and casting long playful shadows across the pavement behind the boys. Bin doesn’t think he’s ever been happier.

 

 

 

 

 

epilogue

 

They don’t live in a penthouse apartment, nor do they live in a cottage in the mountains. Once both Bin and Dongmin are finished university the manage to secure themselves a nice mid sized apartment in a quieter part of the city. It’s not too far from the metropolis centre but it’s also not terribly contested with traffic all the time. And the landlord allows cats, which is a bonus. 

It’s Bin’s day off from teaching at the dance studio that he and Minhyuk own up town and he has spent it lounging around in his sweatpants reading the book that Dongmin had recommended he take a look at. He’s been hooked ever since the first page. He lounges on the couch, their tiny grey cat is curled up on his lap, purring loudly. They sun is just beginning to set when he hears the door slide open. Gently he lifts the cat off of him and lies his book face down on the coffee table before standing and heading to the door.

Dongmin’s hair is ruffled and his face is flushed from a long day. The sleeves of his white button down have been rolled up to his elbows and there are marker marks all over his hands and forearms. He slips his feet out of his shoes and waddles up the stairs and into Bin’s waiting arms. 

“How was work?” Bin asks, smoothing down Dongmin’s ruffled hair. Dongmin just groans into his shoulder. Bin smiles and walks his boyfriend slowly into their living room before depositing him gently onto the couch and heading into the kitchen. 

“That boy is a menace!” Dongmin calls to him from where he’s splayed out on the couch. “Seriously, you should have a long talk with Jinwoo about parenting techniques because his child lacks any form of focus at all.”

Bin hums to show Dongmin he’s listening, filling up a glass with water and bringing it into the living room. 

“Twenty minutes! It took us twenty minutes to actually start the lesson! That’s nearly half of our time together!” Dongmin exclaims. Bin sits next to him on the couch and offers him the glass of water with a smile. Dongmin thanks him and takes it, sipping gratefully. 

“But is he improving?” Bin asks. Dongmin nods, swallowing his gulp of water.

“Quickly, too. He can almost play through all of Moonlight Sonata, hands together at about half speed, which is pretty impressive with the amount of time he’s been playing.”

“Well, that’s good then.” 

“But imagine how much better he would be if we actually got to use the whole lesson instead of him spending almost half of it stabbing me with felt pens!” Dongmin says exasperatedly before placing the half finished glass of water on the coffee table.

“I’m just glad that I don’t have a show tonight. I don’t know if I’d be able to stay awake through the whole thing.” He picks up Bin’s book, places a scrap of paper from the coffee table between the pages before closing it and putting it back.

“One of these days I’m gonna buy you a bookmark so you won’t ruin all of the spines on my books.” He says before leaning back into the couch with a sigh. 

Bin stands up from his spot and perches himself on the back of the couch behind Dongmin, one leg on either side of his head. He reaches down to massage Dongmin’s neck at the base of his skull causing his head to loll forward and to the side against Bin’s thigh. He lets out a soft groan as Bin’s fingers skillfully work at a particularly tight knot of muscle. Bin moves to massage under Dongmin’s ears and then down to the tops of his shoulders close to his neck. 

When Dongmin lets his head tip all the way forward, Bin can see the mark he’d left at the top of his spine the night before. He lets his fingers brush over it gently and he feels Dongmin nuzzle his nose into his thigh, just above his knee. 

“Are you trying to butter me up or something?” Dongmin asks, sleepily.

“Can’t I just do something nice for you after you’ve had a stressful day at work?” Bin asks innocently, brushing his fingers over the mark one more time. Dongmin reaches over his shoulder and grabs Bin’s hand. He pulls so that Bin is leaning forward, his chest pressed to the back of Dongmin’s head. Dongmin plays with Bin’s fingers, stopping to play with the simple silver band that adorns his left ring finger.

“Hmmmm. I suppose you can.” He says before bringing Bin’s hand to his lips and kissing his palm. Bin runs the fingers on hand through Dongmin’s silky hair.

“I did have something I wanted to ask you though.” 

Dongmin leans back, further into Bin’s chest with a childish whine, draping Bin’s arm across his chest caging himself in. He bites at Bin’s forearm teasingly, to show his displeasure but not actually wanting to hurt Bin.

“Myungjun is performing tonight, downtown and he asked if we would come. I told him I’d see if you were up to it when you got home.”

Dongmin whines again, a little louder and bites Bin just a little harder, jutting his lip out in a pout.

“Oh come on, you big baby. You can handle it. Plus it’s not like we have to go out after.” 

Dongmin sighs but Bin can sense his resolve cracking.

“Alright. We should go and support our friend.” He says, letting go of Bin’s hand and sitting up. 

He heads to their bedroom to get a change of clothes for the evening and a towel so he can shower and Bin follows him, grabbing his own clothes and towel along the way. 

“Oh and guess what?” He says as the two of them putter around their bedroom, gathering their things.

“What?” Dongmin responds from inside thigh closet where he’s searching for some pants. “And if you say, “No, you have to guess.” I swear I will walk out on you right now.”

Bin chuckles at his grumpy boy friend.

“Sanha called me to ask where I bought your ring. I think he’s gonna propose to Minhyuk soon.”

Dongmin pokes his head out of the closet, visibly brighter than just a few seconds ago.

“Really? And I always thought it was gonna be Minhyuk who would propose.” He says with a contemplative hum, exiting the closet with a clean pair of jeans in hand. 

He scoops up the rest of his clothes and his towel and heads toward the bathroom only to be intercepted by Bin, towel in hand, looking at him with a mischievous smirk. Dongmin glares at him suspiciously.

“Awe, come on. It’ll save water.” He says with a lascivious grin. Dongmin purses his lips and glares harder. 

“Fine.” He agrees and Bin’s smile brightens into a blinding grin. “But no funny business! I’m exhausted.”

Bin pouts, but follows Dongmin into the bathroom anyways.

“Gosh, are you sure you’re gonna be able to handle your own kid?” He asks with a teasing smile.

“It’s a little late to back out now. I mailed in the adoption papers this morning.” Dongmin answers. “Plus,” He says turning to face his husband with that smile that’s never stopped being the most beautiful one Bin has ever seen. Even after all these years.

“I’ll have you. And you’re going to make a great dad.”

Bin smiles back and steps forward to kiss his husband before closing the bathroom door behind them.

It’s not a cottage in the mountains or a penthouse suite. They don’t have enough room for a baby grand and Dongmin doesn’t have as much time to bake or read as he would like but every day he goes out to a job he’s passionate about and comes home to a man he loves. Bin doesn’t drink coffee and they don’t have a picture window and he rarely gets up before the sun is high in the sky but he’s got Dongmin and he’s truly never been happier.

**Author's Note:**

> y'all know the drill. follow me on tumblr if you want. thegarbagecan.tumblr.com. i like to scream in the tags


End file.
